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I think it's more fewer people are getting married these days
That's part of it. However, that might only reinforce the OP's position on the matter.
Marriage isn't necessarily the natural state of things. And before that gets jumped on, I'm not in any way talking about heterosexual marriage or homosexual marriage. What I'm saying is simply that marriage isn't a "given." Not everyone needs to get married. I think that's mainly responsible for what has changed in society.
Women are more independent now. Failure to marry was generally seen as a failure of the person and in the case of women, it was a failure in life. They had little-to-no earning potential and would have to live with their parents or another family member for the rest of their life. There was a stigma with not being married.
Hence why if you look at data from census.gov, specifically the Historical Marital Status Tables, you'll see that in 1950, roughly 75% of all Americans over the age of 15 were married.
One possible reason is the social stigma I mentioned earlier. Some women were getting married out of financial need. Some men who simply aren't fit for marriage were getting married because "that's just what you do." On a smaller scale, some homosexual men married women out of fear of what social circles would think if they did not. And some homosexual women got married to men for the same reasons.
Times have moved on and things have changed. In all age ranges, only 58% of Americans are married. Women have the potential to be more independent. They don't have equal pay, but maybe we are progressing towards equal pay. Women don't need to be married for financial security. Men not suited for marriage can simply not get married because a bachelor's lifestyle is no longer frowned upon.
Americans waiting longer for marriage are likely not making the mistake of the 18-year-old versions of our ancestors that married their high school sweethearts before going off to war. Society was very critical of pre-marital sex. That's not to say it didn't happen, but the repercussions were more severe. So, if a couple wanted to have sex (or continue to do so), they had to have the blessing of the church or under the authority of government. However, some of these couples realized about a decade later, in their late twenties, that they really aren't compatible. And the only thing keeping them together was the kids and their mortgage.
However, 18-year-olds for the past few decades are thinking of college and their early careers such that they can support themselves, possibly a spouse and maybe children. It doesn't hurt that society is becoming more accepting of premarital sex. One of the side effects of this is that people can be sexually active without the need to get married young. I think this leads to people being able to come into themselves more naturally, find their interests and dislikes and then find a mate that is suitable.
I think it would be common sense that this would then lead to less divorces.
Now, I will say that the graphs provided by Bloomberg would support my theory. However, I'll play Devil's Advocate as well. It shows that married couples in the 18-34 range have had a dip in their divorce rate. So has pretty much every age range, other than 55+. That too is common sense. If people are marrying later (say, average age of 28), then on average, they only have 6 years to get divorced in order to fall into that 18-34 category. Whereas the only group still steadily rising are 55+. That only seems natural because by that age, you've had more time with your spouse to come to the conclusion that it isn't working out. More time for drama, more time for something to happen to lead to divorce.
Overall, I'd say that if we could revisit this in 2050, we'd probably see the overall divorce rate drop. And it very well might be due to societal changes that we first started seeing with Millennials. That's not to say there is anything special about Millennials. They might just happen to be the generation that came of age after societal norms allowed for premarital sex and independent financial stability to be feasible.
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I may be experiencing a little "blip" that isn't statistically accurate, but I'm shocked at how many millennials divorce FAST. Of the 8 weddings I've been to in the last 5 years, 4 are divorced already. And 1 of them filed before the first anniversary.
All of them involved college educated couples in their mid 20's, dated long enough, lots of engagement parties, bridal luncheon, save the date, huge rock ring, 40K+ weddings, and divorced right away before kids.
I don't know how to explain it, except this wedding mania the country seems to be in with Pinterest and The Knot seems to be luring people to the altar who are in it for the party.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Railman96
Every generation thinks they're better than the next. Do you have any statistical data that proves that people in their twenties are less mature than others the same age in the 1960's, or is this some nonsencial opinion yours to make yourself feel better by uplifting your generation? I'm going to go with the latter.
Maybe "less mature" is the wrong term, maybe "less independent" is the better term to discuss.
The statistics on the number of adults in their late 20's who don't live independently from their parents is unprecedented and epidemic.
In generations past, adults in their 20's still did really rash and immature things like driving crazy, drinking too much, quitting jobs rashly, etc.
But they supported themselves without help from their parents.
Getting married in your 20s boggles my mind. Your brain isn't even developed until you are 25
I felt 17 all through my 20s
My spouse and I married just prior to my 21st birthday and just after his. He had recently graduated university, and I had another year to go. We have been married for 32 years and are planning for 32 more. Our best friends from college married shortly after us, and they're also still married. So are several of our other friends who married in their early twenties.
I think one of the things going on with this statistic is that those who were always more likely to stay married, the college educated, are now pretty much the only people getting married. Marriage among women and men with only high school educations has plummeted.
Last edited by randomparent; 09-26-2018 at 08:20 AM..
Reason: subject-verb agreement issue
just because they aren't divorced yet doesnt mean they wont be. they say 20% of marriages end within the first 5 years. well guess what that means the other 80% come past that point.
Finally millennials being credited with something positive ..
—-
Americans under the age of 45 have found a novel way to rebel against their elders: They’re staying married.
New data show younger couples are approaching relationships very differently from baby boomers, who married young, divorced, remarried and so on. Generation X and especially millennials are being pickier about who they marry, tying the knot at older ages when education, careers and finances are on track. The result is a U.S. divorce rate that dropped 18 percent from 2008 to 2016, according to an analysis by University of Maryland sociology professor Philip Cohen.
Trying to figure out why this is "a way to rebel against their elders" ? Regardless of how you try to spin this , it is a positive thing.
I've read research that suggests that Baby Boomers (i.e the parents of Millennials) are the generation most likely to get divorced. For Millennials, such as myself, many of whom had divorced parents, I think there is more of a determination to not repeat the pattern. It isn't so much a "rebellion", but a desire to not make our parents mistakes.
just because they aren't divorced yet doesnt mean they wont be. they say 20% of marriages end within the first 5 years. well guess what that means the other 80% come past that point.
My parents are part of that 80%. Mom (born in March 1959) and Dad (born in April 1959) were both over 20.5 when they married on 12/22/1979. They are still happily married.
Finally millennials being credited with something positive ..
—-
Americans under the age of 45 have found a novel way to rebel against their elders: They’re staying married.
New data show younger couples are approaching relationships very differently from baby boomers, who married young, divorced, remarried and so on. Generation X and especially millennials are being pickier about who they marry, tying the knot at older ages when education, careers and finances are on track. The result is a U.S. divorce rate that dropped 18 percent from 2008 to 2016, according to an analysis by University of Maryland sociology professor Philip Cohen.
That is how it should be. Get everything in place, then make the decision to commit to another human being, especially when that commitment typically produces more human beings.
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