The number of singles in the U.S. is growing: 'What people look for in a romantic partner has changed,' says scholar of singlehood

The internet is full of stories of adults lamenting their single status — from the many personal essays about being "single forever" to the millions of TikTok videos under the "dating" hashtag of users proclaiming that they're "never going to find love."

"There just are more single people," says Geoff MacDonald, a professor of psychology at the University of Toronto.

In 1990, 59% of U.S. adults were married, according to the Pew Research Center. That number dropped to 51% by 2023.

Plus, "everybody is single at some point," says MacDonald, scholar of singlehood and relationships. It's why he believes it's important to study "what the experience of singlehood is like," he says.

Alongside his colleagues at the Macdonald Social Psychology Research Laboratory, MacDonald studies the demographics of people who tend to be happier single, the sexual habits of singles today, what happens when people transition from single to partnered and what it all means for the future of romantic relationships.