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The story
A thread on the Nandemo Jikkyou G (livegalileo) board split into opposing camps over a middle-aged single man’s claim that “being single is more fun.” Some mocked the poster, saying he’s “just rock bottom himself and trying to drag everyone else down to his level,” while several married posters admitted they envied singles who “can enjoy hobbies and days off without worrying about anyone else.” Others pushed back, arguing “that’s not something you’d trade a wife and kids for,” and warned that “being single leaves you screwed when you get sick or grow old.” The debate over what counts as happiness — and who’s really jealous of whom — never converged.
What people said
so he's going "everyone's happier living alone!"
just to drag the rest of us down to his level.
You've been making these threads for years out of a wish that if you're not having fun, other singles shouldn't be either.
There are plenty of older single guys out there — divorced or whatever — who aren't crazy at all. Probably even your own boss.
Don't corner him with facts…
He's projecting his pain onto everyone else — "in the timeline where I got married, I'd have been happy!!" Just let him have it.
Married guy: "I-it's just to dodge jealousy from singles~"
By that logic, singles saying "being single sucks" could just as easily be the same thing.
But they never actually split up, do they?
Actions speak louder than words.
you can pursue hobbies without worrying about family, take a day off whenever you feel like it, go out whenever you want, do whatever you please.
Unless it's a hobby you're devoting your whole life to, nobody's going to complain that much. And if you really want to devote your life to a hobby, just turn it into a job or find some way to make it earn money.
It's not something worth trading a wife and kids for.
You're not actually envious of singles — you just want to keep your current life while also doing whatever you want, which is just being selfish.
If you truly envied singles, you'd ditch the wife and kids and get divorced.
That's your answer right there.
Haha, go easy on him!
You can do all of that even with kids, you know.
Maybe I'll pick up go and shogi once I hit my 50s.
Not having kids?
I'm divorced with two kids, but I get along fine with them now that they're grown, and honestly, skipping out entirely on the hassle of raising them has been the best deal of my life.
Well, saying "lucky you, I'm jealous" just makes the middle-aged single guy happy, that's why.
Married people aren't really jealous of singles to begin with.
It's more like an adult looking back fondly on their school days and going "ah, those were the days~" — nostalgia, not an actual wish to be single again.
Unless getting younger came bundled with the deal.
Well, that's because they no longer have to deal with getting mocked for being single.
This, for real.
My parents didn't get along, so I have zero desire to get married.
The average age on this board is a hint 🥺
Pairing up to carry on your line is just natural, though — that's more basic than any "values."
Guys who are still single at a certain age are mostly either hobby-less or into hobbies they can't even tell people about.
I hang out with my hobby buddies and our whole families together.
There's no real causal link between hobbies and marital status though.
Marriage comes down to meeting someone, financial outlook, family circumstances, and personal choice.
Plenty of singles have hobbies and plenty of married people have none.
Generalizing from just the people around you is way too sloppy.
If you're blue-collar and your body gives out, you can't do physical labor anymore.
Even healthy people can end up with mental health issues, and if your parents have passed on and you've got no wife or kids at that point…
yeah, that's rough.
This is seriously brutal.
I fell off my bike once and spent the whole weekend in bed — it was absolutely miserable.
Young people are a different story though.
So true.
Pretty much every time it's just "ahh, of course."
Whether someone's surprising or not isn't decided by their marital status alone — you might not even know their hobbies, job, or circumstances.
Re: #129
It doesn't, actually?
Background and Key Points of This Debate
This “singles vs. marrieds” argument is a recurring staple on 5ch, and as one poster in the thread pointed out, “threads trashing singles get made all the time, but threads praising singles never do” — a pattern where people tend to justify their own life choices by putting down the other side. Married posters voiced envy of singles who “can move freely without worrying about hobbies or days off,” while single posters shot back that “no married person would actually ditch their wife and kids to go back to being single” — each side, in effect, projecting envy onto whatever they themselves gave up. The worry that “singles have no one to rely on when they get sick or grow old” is a common talking point about life planning, but it’s easy to overlook that marriage is no guarantee of security either — plenty of people end up single again through divorce or the death of a spouse.
*This article is excerpted and summarized from the 5ch (Nandemo Jikkyou G) thread “[Sad News] Why the middle-aged single guy bragging “being single is more fun” is trying to drag everyone else down with him lol.”
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