A Brief History of How Living Alone Came to Seem Totally Normal, by Emily Badger: “No change in the American household has been more pronounced over the last 40 years than the rise of people living alone. In 1970, only 17 percent of U.S. households contained such singletons, solo men and (more often) women getting by without kids, spouses, parents or unrelated roommates. Today, more than a quarter of all households (27 percent total) meet this definition.”