Hyper-Individualism and the 'Solo Economy': Investigating the Sociocultural Drivers of the Rise in Single-Person Households

Single-person households have shifted from a marginal arrangement to a mainstream residential pattern worldwide, yet demographic and economic explanations alone cannot account for why many working-age adults choose to live alone. This integrative literature review examines how hyper-individualism, structural change, and the solo economy jointly drive this trend. Sources were retrieved from Scopus, Web of Science, JSTOR, and Google Scholar, screened following PRISMA 2020, and analysed through thematic synthesis. Four themes emerged: structural and demographic foundations, hyper-individualism as a value orientation, the solo economy and technology as enabling infrastructure, and the autonomy–isolation paradox. The findings suggest that these forces reinforce one another in a feedback loop in which values encourage solo living, solo living generates a market, and the market further normalises solo living. Risks arise not from living alone itself but from weak social integration. The review offers implications for urban housing, elder-care, public health policy, and future research.