Being single definitely has its perks. Nobody calls you to check-in with you while you’re at a bar, or yells at you for flirting with that charming girl or guy.

The best part is that you get to do whatever you want, whenever you want. So, what is the problem with this kind of freedom?

It means that at the end of the night, you come home alone. Those cute “I love you” texts are no longer popping up on your phone and when you desperately need to cuddle, you have to go ask your roommate.

Typically, people who date in college cannot be serious about the relationship because they don’t even know what it means to be in a relationship. The two people are not mature enough to plan a future together. How can they if they are still using mommy and daddy’s credit card to cover all their expenses? Of course it can be beneficial because you can learn valuable virtues such as patience and sharing, but what percentage of college couples actually stay together?

A junior at the University of Illinois, Jackie Marrella, dated her boyfriend for a couple of years. They broke up recently and now she sees dating in a whole new light.

“Being single in college is one of the best things you can do for yourself because college is your last chance to have fun before the real world kicks in.”

On the flip-side, the obvious advantage of being in a relationship while you are studying is love, or sometimes an illusion of love.

A 23-year-old, Alex DeCamp, said that the benefit of this unconditional love gives people the happiness that they long for. “It is nice to care for someone that cares just as much for you.”

Whatever you value in college is socially acceptable and to an extent “healthy,” but what happens after your 20s? Is it better to settle down and marry?

MSNBC reported that researchers from the University of Louisville in Kentucky found that men who stay single may die eight to 17 years before married men, while women who stay single may die seven to 15 years before married women. Of course, these studies suggest that healthy marriages result in an increased lifespan.

Other health benefits include “…better physical health, more resistance to infection, fewer infections, and a reduced likelihood of dying from cancer, from heart disease, [and] from all major killers,” psychologist and author John Gottman, PhD, told WebMD.

Marty Watson, a recent DePaul graduate, is not convinced that these studies are accurate especially not in the United States.

“Half of all marriages end in divorce and the other half are fighting to stay together,” Watson said.

Watson is perfectly fine staying single, and she said that if she does fall in love she will marry, but if not, she doesn’t mind.

“People are born alone and they die alone. The idea that you need someone to complete you is bull and totally in the mind of an ideologist and romanticist,” Watson said, laughing. “I just want one child to keep my legacy going.”
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