How Are You Living Your Best Bachelor Life?

If you haven’t yet departed from social media, you don’t have to look very deeply to see memes and reels about “why aren’t men dating” or “declining fertility rates” or similar types of fearmongering. 
There are many reasons why less people want to follow the traditional route of marrying, having kids, white picket fence, etc.  Some of them, to be sure, are concerning.  We do spend more time on social media and our phones than we used to, which can compromise our ability to be social in real life (IRL, as the kids say).  In this writer’s opinion, the decline itself isn’t a bad thing.  Traditional marriages have stifled women, who spend much of their time doing the domestic labor, even if they work outside the home.  So they have two jobs. 

So why shouldn’t women celebrate singlehood?  Now, they only have one job.

But, as less women are getting married or coupling, men are following, and the fearmongering around that is ubiquitous.  “They’re incels!”  “They’re spending all day playing video games!”  “Why are less men approaching women?”  And so on.  And there’s also the doomsdaying around declining fertility/birth rates.

At the same time, there’s a host of content (news articles, social media) about single women living their best lives, not having to deal with a man’s stunted emotions or messy habits.  Some of these pieces offer the disclaimer, “These women haven’t given up on love.  They’re just not going to accept whatever’s handed on it.”  I’m not critical of that disclaimer per se, but that does show how much we lionize romance.  I don’t know what percentage of singles are truly single at heart, but I’d love to hear the disclaimer, “…and if you don’t want it, that’s fine too.”

But I digress.  To be sure, male singlehood has been glamorized more than that of women: the cool bachelor.  And many married/coupled men envy and romanticize the bachelor lifestyle; I’ve been referred to as a “playboy” and been asked if I’ve slept with any of my woman friends (the answer is “no”). 

I enjoy the company of women, but mostly in a platonic sense.  My woman friends add meaning to my life in ways that a romantic partnership never could.  And I also do my best to eschew the “bachelor stereotype.”  I don’t spend hours playing video games.  I don’t drink, do drugs, or gamble.  I generally try to eat right (although I do have a weakness for pizza and anything with chocolate in it).  I exercise.  I have hobbies, this blog being one of them.  Actually, it’s not so much a hobby as it is a passion.

I love Chelsea Handler’s videos about her adventures as a childfree singleton (as of this writing).  And, on a less adrenalized level, those videos of a woman coming home to peace are nice as well.  But I’d like to see some men posting similar stuff, particularly if they buck the “playboy” stereotype.  I’m a little too shy to start posting videos to the public, but here’s how I started the day.
My cat/son Chester woke me up at around 7 a.m. with his demands for treats.  I went for a jog, made breakfast, and wrote.  There was nobody to disturb me. 
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Now it’s your turn.  Men: how are you living your best bachelor life?