Marriages are down nationwide, and millennials are to blame. Millennials are getting married later in life, and some will even wait until they’re after 40. You will need to scour dating websites and matchmaking apps to find people who actually want real relationships and actual marriage, but they are the outliers in a generation that’s saying no to traditional marriages.
Economy
When times are tough, people will prioritize their own careers over everything. You can’t be happily married if you don’t have food on the table. Millennials need to feel economically secure before even considering marriage. This has raised the median age for marriage among millennials to 27 for women and 29 for men. 1 in 4 millennials will forgo marriage, focusing on career and maintaining shallow and temporary relationships. Women are seeking men who hold steady jobs with potential career growth, and they are not so eager to give up their careers to raise a family. It might seem like marriage is a privilege afforded only to the rich, and those in less wealthy demographics seem to think that it is.
Culture
Hook-up culture, environmentalism, a sense of entitlement — there is a multitude of reasons why millennials aren’t marrying. Some are afraid of taking in the responsibilities of being a parent, and some are afraid of the consequences of having a failed marriage. Raising a kid and starting a family aren’t too much of a priority anymore, and millennials are more focused on their own advancement rather than building relationships or families. Two-thirds of millennials believe that society will be fine even if people don’t prioritize marriage and having kids — and this is undoubtedly reflected in how they live their lives. Not getting married has little effect on society, but not having children will have dire consequences on the whole nation further down the road.
Politics
Most millennial women are liberal or lean mostly to the Left. Current liberal ideas tend to demonize men and masculinity. This creates a particular conflict between men and women. Men need to be allies and forgo their masculine traits to be accepted by women, but this emasculation also makes them unattractive to women. Liberal women will espouse ideologies that target masculinity, while still being attracted to that same masculinity. There’s a reason why more women watched Aquaman than Captain Marvel — and it’s not because DC makes better movies. This ideological policies that liberals promote have made liberal men — especially white men — the most unhappy demographic in the U.S. Conservatives have none of these problems and are still going on with their happy lives. Unless liberal men can somehow get their masculinity back and tolerant women accept that they need men in their lives, marriages will be only happening in one side of the political spectrum.
Overall, marriage and family are some pillars that hold up society as you know it. Hopefully, millennials can deal with their issues and start prioritizing relationships over everything else once again.
