30 People Who Couldn’t Make It Any More Clear That They’re Single

30 percent of U.S. adults are single. This number jumps to 51 percent if we look only at gay, lesbian, or bisexual people, and to a whopping 63 percent among 18- to 29-year-old men.

Interested in how to recognize them, Reddit user Riff_lick601 asked everyone on the platform to share what they believe to be the telltale signs of a solo lifestyle, and in just a few days, they have received over 4,500 replies.

To cut through the noise, we've sorted the most popular and interesting ones. Continue scrolling to check them out and don't miss the chat we had with psychologist Dr. Bella DePaulo — you'll find it spread in between the entries.

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30 People Who Couldn’t Make It Any More Clear That They’re Single I used to work in the film industry, meaning I got fed two very good meals a day + snacks. So when I went to the supermarket it was basically some cereal for the weekend, toothpaste, maybe some chocolate and a lot of beer.

I'd get to the checkout (this is in London) and a large Jamaican lady would scan my items and say.....
"tsk ohhh, you live on your own don't you?"

I'd shyly nod "yes".

"You don't have a girlfriend??? You want a girlfriend?"

Then she'd shout to the till 2 away "Sylvia! SYLVIA! you want a skinny white boyfriend?".

pinpinipnip , Michael Burrows Report

Final score:

113points

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Pittsburgh rare 2 weeks ago

🤣 l read that and I totally could hear the accent

41points

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30 People Who Couldn’t Make It Any More Clear That They’re Single Incels, mostly. They never shut up about it.

I don't play golf, but I don't spend my life complaining about not playing golf, or how I'd be a really good golfer if golf only gave me a chance, or how golf is such a b***h and doesn't want me because golf doesn't know what's good for it even though I've never bothered to make the slightest effort to learn how to play golf.

Portarossa , Engin Akyurt Report

Final score:

100points

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Egodeist 2 weeks ago

Kind of ironic because incels can golf uck themselves!

72points

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Psychologist and author of Single at Heart: The Power, Freedom, and Heart-Filling Joy of Single Life, Dr. Bella DePaulo is considered to be the leading expert on single life, and she says that for a long time, singles have been viewed mostly negatively.

"Over the past decade or so, that's been changing, probably in part because of the growing number of single people," DePaulo tells Bored Panda. "When nearly half of all Americans 18 and older are not married, it is hard to make the case that there's something wrong with that many people."

DePaulo says single people are also starting to push back on the stereotyping and stigmatizing that they endure, which she calls singlism. However, that "generates backlash, and then you start to see the demeaning of single people and people who don't have children (e.g., 'childless cat ladies') and the glorifying of married people."

30 People Who Couldn’t Make It Any More Clear That They’re Single When I need my laundry chair to game, I move everything to the laundry bed. Then bedtime comes and my laundry chair is reborn.

SSBradley37 , neP-neP919 Report

Final score:

74points

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Diolla 2 weeks ago

I don't have this. But that's because my cat helps. If I leave ny laundry lying around she will immediately cover it with cat hair. She has drilled me.

15points

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30 People Who Couldn’t Make It Any More Clear That They’re Single Soup for one, salad for one, wine for three.

benji_76 , Anna Shvets Report

Final score:

67points

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Colleen Glim 2 weeks ago

I see nothing wrong with this

29points

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As you can see from the things shared in the online discussion (and probably your own friends), for some people, being single is much more difficult than for others.

"Their experiences growing up are part of the answer," DePaulo says. "If you are part of a family or culture that reveres marriage and looks down on single people, it is going to be harder. If you have never had role models in your life who stayed single and were happy and flourishing as single people, it will be harder. If you are a people-pleaser, or if you find it daunting to try to go against social norms, living single will be harder for you."

But "if you've never stayed single for long, you may have never had the chance to discover that single life is something that suits you."

30 People Who Couldn’t Make It Any More Clear That They’re Single I'm going to be positive and say "Doing whatever you want all the time".

AVBellibolt , Alex Urezkov Report

Final score:

63points

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Kris 2 weeks ago

Nah. Still have to work. And talk to my dad

5points

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30 People Who Couldn’t Make It Any More Clear That They’re Single When your trash stinks. Not because you threw something stinky in there but because as a single person you don't produce enough trash to fill and take out a bag of trash before it all rots and stinks...

ReddGoat , Suparerg Suksai Report

Final score:

62points

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Daya Meyer 2 weeks ago

Or maybe use smaller bags then?

27points

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As the title of her latest book suggests, DePaulo studies people who are "single at heart."

The psychologist says they are the ones who are happy and flourishing because of their status, not in spite of it. "They love their independence. They also value solitude — spending time on their own refreshes and fulfills them, it doesn't scare them."

"While people in conventional romantic relationships have 'the one,' people who are single at heart often have 'the ones' – a whole circle of friends and relatives, and other people who are important to them."

The key thing, according to DePaulo, is that single at heart find it easy to be single. "Coupled life is what would be hard for them. It would feel more constraining and inauthentic."

30 People Who Couldn’t Make It Any More Clear That They’re Single The other side of my bed is used for keeping my water bottle, it’s where my phone sleeps, my emergency midnight bag of crisps, I take my bra off just before bed and stuff it there.

There’s no room for anyone else to sleep on that side.

Unusual_Disaster_725 , Natalie Dupin Report

Final score:

60points

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Zoe's Mom 2 weeks ago

2 dogs. 'Nuf said.

27points

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Guys that are really into Andrew Tate.

Wolfeman0101 Report

Final score:

59points

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Colleen Glim 2 weeks ago

This bugger needs to go die in a hole!

54points

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If you also want to make the most out of being single, you have to approach it with the right mindset. DePaulo suggests viewing it as something that doesn't take away from your life but rather adds to it.

"Think about all that [it] has to offer you, the way people who are single at heart do," she says. "Invest in your single life. Take advantage of the opportunities your freedom offers you. Follow your interests and passions. Tend to the people who matter to you. Feel proud of yourself for not feeling like you have to be in a romantic relationship all the time."

It's about being yourself fully and not waiting for a better part to fill you up.

30 People Who Couldn’t Make It Any More Clear That They’re Single (Straight) guys with long dirty fingernails. No woman would let those UTI daggers go anywhere near her fun bits.

OMG_Nooo , Kindel Media Report

Final score:

58points

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Barong 2 weeks ago (edited)

I learned as a kid to keep my nails short and clean. My grandparents, parents, elementary school teachers, all made sure my nails were clean and short, clean, and filed. Made sure we wash our hands regularly before eating and before leaving a restroom. My son too. I don’t know which people this person has been seeing. Manners, etiquette, and hygiene go a long way. Doing little things that help other people feel more comfortable is important for getting along integrating together whether it be at work, family, or out in the general public.

15points

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#10

30 People Who Couldn’t Make It Any More Clear That They’re Single When I was in college, single, and broke, I went to the grocery store and they had these really...adequate frozen spicy chicken sandwiches on sale for like 25 cents a pop. I grabbed all of them.

I went to ring up, the cashier said "Wow, that's...a lot. These must be really good." I responded with "Eh, they fill the hole."

Dude scanned a couple more in silence and asked "So, you're like, really single, aren't you?"

KhaosElement , Sean Gallagher Report

Final score:

54points

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minnieslave0 2 weeks ago

"Really.... adequate. " Damning with faint praise and then some.

27points

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However, the psychologist also warns to be aware of the stereotypes and dismissive comments even within these replies. Some of them, she says, are not just demeaning, but also plain wrong.

Take the one that mentions single people's supposed availability for last-minute plans, implying that they have more time than coupled people do. "Research shows that when aging parents need help, their grown single children are more likely to be providing it than their kids who are coupled. They are not always available for last-minute plans because they are doing the hard work of caring for other people."

As with every online discussion, it's great for making us think about sensitive topics but don't take everything as fact.

#11

30 People Who Couldn’t Make It Any More Clear That They’re Single Believing in an Alpha/Beta/Sigma pecking order.

streethawk2000 , Amir Abbaspoor Report

Final score:

54points

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roepi 2 weeks ago

That's not a sign of being single. That's a sign of being pathetic.

65points

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#12

Being able to wake up on a saturday morning, think to yourself "f**k it" and stay in bed for another half hour before you decide wether you'll be reading, gaming or going somewhere today.

Icy-Maintenance7041 Report

Final score:

52points

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Multa Nocte 2 weeks ago

Nah, I'm married and I do this all the time.

13points

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#13

30 People Who Couldn’t Make It Any More Clear That They’re Single I have two seats in my tiny apartment. One faces the tv. The other is for the computer. They don't face each other.

Oh, also, I have one pillow on my bed.

lestairwellwit , FlynnLive5 Report

Final score:

48points

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Colleen Glim 2 weeks ago

Treat yourself. Buy a second bed pillow

26points

Tempest 2 weeks ago

Just two? Get the three! Head pillow, huggy pillow, and the in-between-legs pillow. (Yes, I’m single! Why do you ask? ;p)

4points

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Pittsburgh rare 2 weeks ago

The knee pillow 🙌

4points

Robin Roper 2 weeks ago

The one bed pillow makes me suspect this person is not normal; my husband and I have 6 pillows. We like a lot of pillows.

3points

Christa Cope 2 weeks ago

I am single and have at least 4 pillows.

3points

Maudelin 2 weeks ago

Couldn't have found a picture with only two chairs to match the text?

3points

Heather Menard 2 weeks ago

I have four two for me two for the animals

1point

Deson 2 weeks ago

I have one pillow as well but it's a tube one in the shape of a Baguette.

1point

Sven Horlemann 2 weeks ago

Get a bigger monitor. They are totally worth it!

0points

KatSaidWhat 2 weeks ago

I now have four. I bought two earlier this year that were supposedly hotel quality. Sure, if that hotel is a motel on a highway. Now I use them to prop me up while watching telly.

0points

Missy VanWinkle 2 weeks ago

I have FOUR, and they are all for me, me, me! Oh, I've shared but that's another story.

0points

On the right side of the turf 2 weeks ago

Four pillows and still not sharing 😅

0points

Riley Quinn 2 weeks ago

Basically my set up. An office chair at my computer desk, a recliner in front of the TV, and a twin bed. Not only do I prefer living alone, I don't even entertain the thought of having guests.

0points

Spellflinger 2 weeks ago

I only have 2 towels. One for my hair and one for my body. Don’t need more than that.

0points

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#14

30 People Who Couldn’t Make It Any More Clear That They’re Single My first ever apartment after I moved out from home,

All I had was a TV, Xbox, and bed, no other furniture. My whole apartment was empty.

My fridge was full of beer and frozen foods

I'd say that's pretty bachelor.

Sufficient-Ad-3586 , Max Vakhtbovycn Report

Final score:

47points

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Susical 2 weeks ago

Sounds like they had everything they needed.

11points

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#15

30 People Who Couldn’t Make It Any More Clear That They’re Single Not finishing your groceries before they go bad because they don’t get eaten fast enough.

Pristine_Match457 , Mike Jones Report

Final score:

46points

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Pittsburgh rare 2 weeks ago

You need to cook in batches and freeze. Almost everything can be frozen. Except cheese. But cheese is never gonna last so long anyway.

14points

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#16

30 People Who Couldn’t Make It Any More Clear That They’re Single Having 8 cats.

Snow4u1 , NastyaSensei Report

Final score:

44points

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Maudelin 2 weeks ago

Better company than humans.

35points

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#17

30 People Who Couldn’t Make It Any More Clear That They’re Single Actively looking around at parties.

MhrisCac:
That might be the worst one, having nobody to anchor to temporarily at a party is the worst feeling. Feeling like you’re a random free floater desperately searching for somebody to connect with blows.

Zestyclose_Most_8915 , olia danilevich Report

Final score:

42points

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Barong 2 weeks ago

See, I stopped feeling that way. I used to be shy and introverted. The. I realized I was hurting myself and enjoyment of life by feeling lonely for no logical reason. Being a floater, an outsider, isn’t perhaps as being the center of attention at your own birthday surrounded by friends cool, but with a bunch of new faces two things can happen. One, you make some new acquaintances which is the most likely, or less likely, you make attempts to get to know people where everything feels awkward and no one seems interested in talking but that’s ok, because you probably won't ever have to see any or most of them again. I stopped worrying and just go and talked to people. Most people don’t mind and if they do, it’s on them. Hopefully I make their day brighter because theirs a good chance they made mine.

28points

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#18

I got teased for this at work recently, but “ordering a sh*t ton of takeout for Friday lunch so you don’t have to cook over the weekend.”.

Voltundra Report

Final score:

39points

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zak 2 weeks ago

This is just being wise with your spending. If I'm gonna pay a delivery fee, then I wanna make it worthwhile, so I'll typically order enough food to get at least 2 full days of meals out of it.

17points

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