Single vs. Married

http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/living-single/200912/men-and-women-who-have-always-been-single-are-doing-fine

This article highlights a recent study which found that those individuals over 40 years old who have never been married are just as well-off as those who are married. Societal norms say that to be complete, as well as "normal", you should be married, especially before you hit age 40. We are socialized to think that something is wrong with us if we don't, and likewise, we tend to look down on those who remain single past that age. We often think there has to be something wrong with them which accounts for their status. Rarely do we take into account that it may be their choice to remain single. As this article mentions, marriage is not for everyone, and neither is living single. Society should not try pushing individuals into one category or the other, because as this study supports, both are normal. Generally, neither group of individuals used as the sample population reported higher levels of happiness based on their status. The same holds true for negative emotions. Both the single life and the married life likely have their own pros and cons, but those are subjective to each individual.