# Being single has its own kind of happiness

> New research says the happiest single people are the ones who treat solo life as room to grow, not a gap to fill.
- Title: Being single has its own kind of happiness · Psychologies
- Summary: New research says the happiest single people are the ones who treat solo life as room to grow, not a gap to fill. Your relationship status matters far less…
- Keywords: singleness, happiness, friendship, psychology, self-growth, single, own, kind, Psychologies
- Source: Psychologies — https://psychologies.com/moi/se-connaitre/La-vie-de-celibataire-apporterait-ce-type-de-bonheur-en-particulier-dapres-la-science-638985
- Author: Nina Parage
- Published: 2026-09-14T15:03:05+00:00
- Read time: 1 min
- Topics: singleness, happiness, friendship, psychology, self-growth
## A table for one
A solo dinner at the Thai place nobody else wanted to try. A road trip to the coast with no route and no co-pilot. Small departures from routine, and they add up to something.
## Self-expansion goes solo
Three studies by Yuthika Girme at Simon Fraser University, published in August in Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, applied a couples concept to single people: the drive to grow through new experiences.

> l'expansion de soi
## Belief comes first
Across weeks of daily diaries, singles who saw their status as a chance to grow tried more new things: hiking, solo travel, a new skill. Their life satisfaction climbed day after day.
## Rarely actually alone
82% of the singles surveyed shared these experiences with friends or family rather than romantic partners. Only about 18% went fully solo.
## Chosen, not endured
That sense of potential drops off in people who did not choose their single life, and in those who believe a romance is required for happiness. Perception is the variable, not status.

> la variable qui compte vraiment n'est pas le statut relationnel en soi, mais la façon dont on le perçoit
## Friendship is the ingredient
Lisa Walsh's UCLA team asked 1,073 Americans aged 18 to 24 about five happiness factors. Friendship satisfaction won. 37.9% called themselves fairly happy against 23.7% who were genuinely unhappy.

> la qualité du lien compte davantage que la taille du cercle social
## Key takeaway

Your relationship status matters far less than how you read it, and a few close friendships beat a full romantic calendar.