LOVE, Kloudiia

I just finished an interview with a journalist, and we talked on the topic of, what else, but the singles here in Singapore. Are we unique in our situation here in Singapore, where singles find getting a partner a challenge to them? I’m afraid we could be, with bustling counterparts like Hong Kongers and Taiwanese as the yardstick.

Having worked in Hong Kong for more than a year, it is not difficult to see how the locals are able to socialise and mingle with ease, even when they are meeting new people. We, on the other hand, tend to shy away from new friends when being introduced to your usual group, and unless spoken to, tend not to be the one to initiate a conversation.

What does this mean? This could potentially lead to a social problem where we Singaporeans no longer know how to have fun! Taking the time and effort out to play really hard, as hard as we work. Of course, one may argue that we can have our fun, or even more, with our own group of friends. I do feel very relaxed and comfortable just to chill out with my usual group, to talk about stuff (work or non-work related). However, we also need to make the effort to get to know new friends and create opportunities for ourselves.

Singles are getting older, like it or not. As the marriage age creeps slowly from sub 20s in the good ole’ days to mid-20s, we now have not 1 or 2 years, but almost a 10 year jump to near mid-30s! There really is a lot of learning to do from what I see – learning the art of conversation (as what my close friend just told me), learning how to date, learning how to make yourself more attractive (most importantly, to attract the right people!) etc…

Are our singles here all ready to take these challenges on? We embrace work challenges with open arms when thrown in our direction, but when faced with uncertainties or problems in our very own personal social life, what is the attitude we use to face them? Do we dive into it with zest, discover the crux of the issue and find solutions to it – whether getting advices from friends or professionals to learning through reading related books, attending seminars and such, or we just simply leave it on the backburner hoping it will dissolve one day? Or even worse, don’t acknowledge there’s any problem and let it rest?

Well, I guess it’s up to how important they feel this is to them. Hopefully, the realisation won’t come too late!

And this could be just one of the factors, amongst others. I shall talk about these one by one.

Till then…