The article I extracted this from is actually about a whole bigger piece which I'd like to return to, but this portion caught my attention:

In 2004, Sasha Cagen published the book Quirkyalone, which tries to give a positive spin on Western solitude. A quirkyalone, says Cagen, is "a person who enjoys being single (but is not opposed to being in a relationship) and generally prefers to be alone rather than dating for the sake of being in a couple." In her first formulation of the idea back in 2000, Cagen calculated that 5 percent of the U.S. population are quirkyalones.

Cagen's thesis that "it's not strange to be single; rather, single is the new norm" is lent some credence by new research released in February by the Pew Internet & American Life Project, which reports that 43 percent of American adults (87 million people) say they are single. Twenty six percent of these are single people in a committed relationship. Of those not in a committed relationship, 55 percent are not looking for a partner.

I never heard of either the book or the term "quirkyalone". Although I agree with the thesis that "it's not strange to be single", I'm not sure what the "quirky" part. But, here's the author's take on that term:

The word came to her fully formed, and in this zany, untraditional book, she explains the word and the movement it spawned. "Quirkyalone stands in opposition to saccharine, archaic notions of romantic love. It stands for self-respect, independent spirit, creativity, true love, and confidence,"

OK, I'm not crazy about the word but like its meaning.

I was just in New York City this past weekend and it's quite noticeable that more people seem comfortable being alone, going to movies alone, and dining alone than I remember when I first became single again (early 90's). I notice this trend in the bigger cities (NYC, Chicago, San Francisco) but not so much in other places. I'm in the Kansas City area right now and I don't see it nearly as often as I do in those other cities.