The Untold Stories of Singles

Bella DePaulo. a speaker, author, teacher, and social scientist, considers how society pressures everyone to find "the one" that's perfect for them, and how doing so simply doesn't equate to happiness in her talk on being single.

Well into her 60s, DePaulo is proud to say that she's always been single, and that this choice has freed in her in a sense. She continues her talk on being single by exploring the many different stories she's heard from others who've discovered the value in being alone, and how love doesn't always have the ability to satisfy all of their needs in life. Although there's a belief that marriage will lead to happiness, DePaulo shows that levels of happiness go down over the years, and those who get married and then divorced experience an even greater drop.

In addition, DePaulo touches on the hierarchy of relationships in society, and how single people are considered to be at the bottom of the pyramid, and therefore stigmatized and constantly pressured into changing their status. Although single people are often thought of as lonely, DePaulo reveals that it's often actually the very opposite, as single people tend to develop autonomy which allows them to fully master their lives, and pursue what matters most to them.