Eric Klinenberg Living Alone Analysis

There has been an ongoing phenomenon on whether living alone is beneficial or detrimental to one’s physical and mental well-being. The thought of being “isolated” from society intimidates people resulting in many refusing to ever consider living alone. In Going Solo: The Extraordinary Rise and Surprising Appeal of Living Alone, Eric Klinenberg reveals that living alone is not only beneficial but is a necessity to developing one’s independence and is rapidly increasing throughout the world. Klinenberg challenges the common worldwide hatred towards living alone by providing a variety of statistics, over 300 interviews, case studies, and even visual charts justifying why living alone at least once in one’s lifetime is highly recommended. Populations

Since the 1950s, singletons have increased worldwide and Klinenberg explicates that it is due to improvements in society. Klinenberg first points out that women currently uphold the solo living population. Studies show that the women population is at about 18 million in comparison to men who only have about 14 million. A contributing factor to this is simply the change in each generation’s outlook. The current generation has a very different outlook on marriage than the generation back in the 50’s. When Klinenberg started his studies, women were looked down upon if they were not married by their late teens, early twenties. Now, it is very common for marriage to be out of the picture until one is ready. Another improvement that contributes to the singletons population rising is technological advancement. Nowadays it is very easy to communicate with other via text, call, FaceTime, tweet and even live streaming, making living alone not as lonely as people might think. Additionally, the expansion of cities also lures in singletons on the behalf of the desire to intermingle with the public. Klinenberg’s studies showed that singletons associate with society more than couples do because they have less responsibilities on their hands and more free time. Lastly, Klinenberg touches on how human lifespan is a contributing factor in the rise of singletons as well. Since 1950 the length of human existence has

As I chose this novel I was very nervous that I would not be intrigued in the subject due to the fact that I have never thought about living alone. Klinenberg did a very good job with informing the reader about his findings on the benefits of living alone by his methods of research and analysis. Truthfully, I believe that Klinenberg had a well spoken analysis and I do not think he could have added anything else to improve it. His evidence towards his view on the topic was very impressive. He included statistics that dated back until 1950 so he could show the reader how becoming a singleton has grown tremendously over the years. I believe that his evidence portrayed connected well with the his analysis and was very organized and concise, allowing the reader to easily follow along. However, if I were Klinenberg I would run some studies and interviews in rural areas as well as urban areas. I believe that this would further the analysis on living alone and lure in more of a diverse audience. Overall, I am very happy that I read this book because it has truly opened my eyes on the benefits of living alone. I am no longer scared of the common myth that living alone results in one to become lonely. With the help of Klinenberg, I now will keep the perks of becoming a singleton in the back of my mind when it comes to me starting my own