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Single guys can have a lot of things working against them: disinterested girls, financial problems, even friends with questionable ulterior motives.
But now there’s seems to be a new enemy: statistics.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2005 American Community Survey, guys in Nebraska and Iowa face two of the worst ratios of unmarried men to unmarried women in the nation.
In Nebraska, there are 117.1 single men ages 15 to 44 for every 100 single women. In Iowa, there are 115.3 single men to women. The national average is 108 single men to women.
The Census Web site, factfinder.census.gov, ranks No. 5 Nebraska’s situation as “not statistically significantly different from” the situation in several other states, such as Colorado (116.2) or West Virginia (112.7). According to the survey, only Nevada (120.2), North Dakota (117.9), Alaska (118.9) and Hawaii (117.9) have worse ratios than Nebraska.
Nevertheless, there are still reasons for single guys at UNO to keep hoping.
According to the UNO Office of Institutional Research’s 2006-07 student profile, the ratio of males to females on campus is close: 50.1 percent to 49.9 percent for undergraduate students. For grad students, 60 percent are female.
More importantly, the Census survey excludes “population living in institutions, college dormitories and other group quarters,” meaning that the situation for guys on campus might be better or worse—there’s no statistics either way.
Concerned guys can also remember to use statistics to their advantage. While it might not work for any particular Miss Right, there’s still strength in numbers.
Rather than pine away for a lost love or continue to focus on one girl who has already rendered a verdict, play the numbers game. Flirt with a few girls. Go to a party and meet some new people.
Make sure you’re spending your weekends being social—not writing advice columns explaining dating theory.
One final thing to keep in mind is those famous words of Mark Twain: “There are lies, damn lies and statistics.” If you don’t want to be part of the statistics, get out there and prove them wrong.
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