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Marriage is one of the oldest institutions in the world. It has been in practice for more that hundreds of years. But this sacred institution is changing; it is being redefine by millennials. The current marriage rate it at the lowest rate in a century and it's dropping. Millennials have become the first generations in America history to view marriage as an option instead of a necessity. According to , millennials are 6 time more likely to never become a husband or wife when compare to silent generation and 23 time more likely to marry after the age of 35. Currently only 23 percent of millennials are married and in a poll done by , 29 percent of millennials said they aren't sure if marriage is for them.
These statistics are way higher than any previous generations, so what has change, why aren't millennials marrying at the same age range as previous generations.
The main reason why millennials aren't getting married at the same age range as previous generations is because unlike previous generations, millennials place their personal needs and values first.
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They are waiting to finish with their education and be financially secure first because saying the words "I do". If you compare women's role in society today with previous generation, you'll see that, unlike women in other generation, today's women are less dependent in men and doesn't really care about getting married, they are more concern in pursuing their career path and other options that weren't accessible or available for women's in previous generations. Even men, when compare them with previous generations, you'll see that today's men don't only play a financial role in our society, they also play an emotional support role which allowed men to be more mindful about what their spouse can and cannot do and that's also the reason why todays men don't see women as housewife and view marriage as a luxury rather than a necessity.
Skepticism toward marriage is another reason why millennials are getting married later that previous generation.
In a poll done by, 15 percent of millennial has witnessed their parents getting divorce, 54 percent said they know at least one married couple who aren't happy. These statistics have cause millennials to be afraid of marriage, afraid to getting divorce (especially male) or being in an unhappy marriage. According to, "This lack of formal commitment is a way to cope with the anxiety and uncertainty about finding making the 'right' decision on type of mate they want to have". In previous generations, people are willing to get married then figure thing out but this generations (millennials) concern more about figuring things out first then get married. This skepticism about married is one of the reasons why 41 percent of millennials feel that cohabitation is better and more realistic/convenience than being tie (legally and economically) with another person and 21 percent think that marriage isn't for them.
The last reason why millennials aren't getting married at a later age that previous generation is because millennials want to have a stronger sense of identity before tying the knot. People in this generations have more career options than any previous generation and millennials are exploring as much options as possible to have a job that would make them happy and that would pay enough be able to make take care of a family. They also want to know who they really are, what are their strength, what are their weaknesses, makes them happy and what are the qualities they want their mate to have. only way to have answers for these questions is by having a lot of life of life experience. In the past person was jumping into marriage because they want to have someone they could depends on and continued their bloodline but, according to , most millennials view depending on someone is a sign of weakness and they more concern on being in a relationship with someone that have the same interest and values as them than continuing their bloodline. 63 percent of millennials would rather be in a happy relationship without being married and have a family of their own than being in an unhappy marriage with a family of their own (). The main different between marriage in previous generation and now is that in the past people jumped into marriage with a lesser sense of identity than we do now.
Overall, cultural shift is the reasons why millennial isn't getting married at the same age range as previous generations. Millennials doesn't value or interesting in the same thing as people in previous generations. According to , "Before the 20th century, marriage was about helping people achieve their basic physiological, survival sorts of needs like food, clothing and shelter." People did love their spouse but that want the reason why they get married. Spouses were more like workmate rather than soulmate. Today, people care more about finding someone who they love, who share the values with them and who can help them with need of fulfillment, like sexual fulfillment, self-actualization, personal growth and a sense of vitality. That why, these days for the first time, a woman can say "Look, he's a loving man and a good father but I'm not going to spend the rest of my live with him feeling stagnant, feeling like I can't really grow".
The role of marriage institution in the world. (2019, Nov 19). Retrieved from https://studymoose.com/the-role-of-marriage-institution-in-the-world-essay
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