Is it good to be single? An Infographic’s tale
Filed under: Cultural Infographics | 1 Comment »
This graphic, produced by pimsleurapproach.com, examines the benefits of being single. The graphic opens up by displaying some raw stats, not all of them pleasant. One third of all marriages end after 10 years according the graphic (frankly, I”m surprised that stat is as high as it is). 2/3 of people who are married stay together, though the graphic does not indicate for how long.
While I would like to believe that the divorce rate is much lower after people have been married for over ten years, I’m actually inclined to believe that this may not be the case for one simple reason: kids. I think many people remain locked into marriages they despise for the sake of their children, and if marriages are ending after ten years, it means that the couple is getting divorced when their children are only ten years old. I think most people who are only together for their children’s sake wait for the children to be teenagers before they file divorce papers, or if they are overly concerned about how their offspring will react, wait for their kids to go off to college before they begin the splitting process.
But this graphic isn’t about divorce, it’s about something not nearly as horrific: being single. The graphic argues that being married comes with many downsides. As many already suspected, marriages make most people gain weight. The graphic postulates that this is true because married people weigh more on average than single people. This theory actually revolves around a logical flaw, but I wouldn’t harp on that too much. All I will say is that it could be that people who weigh more get married more than people who weigh less. The graphic is not making any claims about how much weight the average person puts on after getting married, which would have been a much less specious argument.
The graphic then goes on to talk about how marriage can hit you where it hurts: in the wallet or pocketbook. Some quick stats:
–The average Valentine’s Day costs $160.37.
–44% of women are bothered if a man expects them to help pay for a meal (so much for gender equality?)
–The total costs a married couple endures while dating amounts to $40,441.92. Woo! Woo!
The graphic gets quite comical by the end, pointing out that instead of dating, a couple could purchase 259 years of World of Warcraft (talk about pure hell), 81 ipads (no one needs that many, no one), or 9,000 Starbucks macchiatos (mmm..9,000 cups of overpriced coffee). On to the grading segment we go.
Design: B+
Most graphics we feature on this site have a width of 660 pixels. This graphics width is only 430 pixels wide, making it one of the smallest graphics we’ve ever reviewed. That said, the graphic still holds its own. I think the design is strong overall and patchy in only a few areas, preventing me from giving it an A.
Content: A
The content of the graphic is excellent. The facts were original and thought-provoking, and the graphic actually provoked an emotional response. When a graphic brings about the emotional response that the author intended, we award it with an automatic A. The humor was a superb touch.
I would have given this an A- on content for ONE little thing: Price comparisons and especially the iPad-part.
The author/rater of this infographic was quite clear and obvious when he said NOONE needs 81 iPads. S/He also said it was awarded an automatic A for inciting “the emotional response that the author intended”. Was the author’s intent to make me think s/he is a technologically backwards noob who can only come up with brand names? If so, the A is deserved. If it was meant to give an emotional response to being single, it gets an F. I could have forgotten that iPad-deal if the rest of the comparisons were generic. But to me, this infographic is just another way of advertising for Apple, Blizzard, Starbucks and Lady Godiva chocolate.
And the more I think about it, the more I think that’s so. Apple makes good design, bad computers and devices, but especially women adore them (read somewhere that there are more female Apple-customers than men, or for one of their products), so a gift for Valentine’s day as planted in the reader’s head earlier. World of Warcraft has its share of female gamers, but the larger part of players are boys/men who wouldn’t mind an expansion for Valentine’s. Starbucks is a non-comittal place to go on Valentine’s, without planning it weeks in advance. And which woman would say no to (apparently delicious, never tried) Lady Godiva Truffles on Valentine’s?
As I see it, this whole infographic does two things: Promote 4 companies that can be tied to Valentine’s, as the IG itself does, through gifting. And it makes people wonder how bad marriage really can be, and make an effort to get a date for Valentine’s, unless they already have a date.
As for the rest of the facts: Women are cheapskates when on a date. As the rater says, where’s the equality? You demanded it, now reap the havoc.
“Getting some”: While 2 to 3 times a month isn’t what most singles imagine, it’s still a lot more than many singles get.
Gaining weight: Quite natural. Humans are social creatures, and we like being in a “pack”. Cooking for others, or have others cook for you, is taking care of the pack. As such, people in a relationship eat at more regular times, they eat more often, they eat more healthy, they simply eat MORE. Whether you gain 20 pounds after marriage, or you gain 2 pounds, you’re still gaining weight. And on average, married people tend to weigh 6 to 9 pounds more than singles it would seem.
Still, this infographic does not deserve an automatic A, it doesn’t even deserve an A. It’s a clever form of advertising, and I imagine, with no evidence to the contrary, that this IG was posted sometime mid-to-late January.