他她話題:已婚族即將淪爲少數派?

A new book by a American sociology professor documents how a record number of Americans now live by themselves, and, what's more, they spend more discretionary dollars than their married counterparts.

根據美國一位社會學教授的新書記載，美國單身人口的數量已創下了歷史紀錄，更重要的是，他們的自由支出也超過了已婚人士。

More and more companies are taking note of this phenomenon and adjusting their product design and development, marketing and advertising plans accordingly.

越來越多的公司已經注意到這一現象，並開始相應地調整產品的設計、開發、推廣以及廣告方案。

Only 51% of American adults today are married. Of the country's 32 million singletons, the majority — about 18 million — are women.

如今，美國成年人的結婚率只有51%。全國3,200萬單身一族中，女性佔多數，人數約爲1,800萬。

The book "Going Solo: The Extraordinary Rise and Surprising Appeal of Living Alone", by Professor Eric Klinenberg, describes the solo lifestyle as increasingly a matter of personal choice rather than a result of some kind of social failure, as it was once widely perceived.

埃裏克·克蘭納伯格博士所著的《單身奏鳴曲：獨處的興盛與誘惑》（Going Solo : The Extraordinary Rise and Surprising Appeal of Living Alone）一書對單身生活方式進行了描述，稱單身已經日漸成爲個人選擇，而不是像以往那樣，被人們普遍視作是某種社交失敗的結果了。

The internet age and accompanying 24/7 work culture have made living alone more attractive and manageable for many, an easier mode in which to achieve a balance among work, life and relationship issues.

網絡時代以及隨之而來的全天候工作文化讓單身成爲更有吸引力、也更易於管理的生活模式，讓人在工作、生活和人際關係的處理上游刃有餘。

The growth in this demographic has spawned hip new neighborhoods for urban professionals which are full of restaurants, bars, coffee shops, boutiques, health clubs, etc. It has also caught the attention of real estate developers, since singles buy 1/3 of all homes in the U.S. and their needs are often different than couples with kids.

單身人口的增加催生了服務於城市專業人士的時髦產業，街坊裏的餐廳、酒吧、咖啡館、精品店、健身房層出不窮，比比皆是。房地產開發商也被吸引過來，因爲美國購房者中有三分之一是單身，他們的需求和有孩子的家庭截然不同。

Other than real estate developers, other consumer companies sharpening their marketing focus on singles include packaged foods, alcoholic beverages, jewelry, restaurants, home furnishings, etc.

除了地產商，其他消費品企業也磨刀霍霍，瞄準單身羣體大力推銷包裝食品、酒精飲品、珠寶、餐廳、家居用品等產品。

The author outlines the results of a 1957 survey of American attitudes to being single. The findings were dramatic. Of those surveyed, 80% believed that people who preferred to be unmarried were "sick", "immoral", or "neurotic."

作者摘錄了1957年對美國人如何看待單身的調查結果，結論很有戲劇性。80%的受訪者認爲，不婚人士要麼“有病”，要麼“作風有問題”，要麼“發神經”。

America 55 years ago had an adult population with more than 70% married, so it's understandable that most people felt that was the norm. But still: "sick, immoral or neurotic?" How times change!

55年前，美國成年人的結婚率高達70%，所以大部分人會有這種看法也是可以理解的。但話說回來，“有病、不道德或發神經”，這些字眼未免有些過頭了吧？時代變化真是太快了!

One obvious question is how this demographic shift in America over the past half-century compares with other regions around the world. The data suggests it's clearly not just an American phenomenon.

一個明顯的問題是，美國人口這半個世紀以來在這方面的轉變和世界其他地區相比情況如何呢？資料證明這並不是美國獨有的現象。

In Stockholm, Sweden, 60% of households have only one occupant. In London and Paris, singletons number roughly 50% of total households (about the same as Manhattan and Washington, D.C.).

在瑞典的斯德哥爾摩，60%的住家都只有一口人。倫敦和巴黎的單身人士也佔到總戶數的50%（幾乎和曼哈頓及華盛頓特區的情況一致）。

In Taiwan, singletons have already topped 42% of the over-20 population.

臺灣的單身貴族已經佔到20歲以上人口的42%。

European countries already have higher "live alone" percentages in their urban centers than the U.S. does, and there are also sharp increases underway in India, Brazil and China.

在歐洲國家的市中心，“獨居”的比例已經超過美國。印度、巴西和中國的獨居比例也在迅速攀升。

The implications of this ongoing trend are profound, for leaders in business and government alike. At the rate we're heading, married couples may be in the minority before long.

這種持續的勢頭對政商兩界領袖都帶來了深遠的影響。照這個速度發展下去，已婚族可能很快就會變成少數派了。