Is Marriage Becoming Obsolete? More Americans think so

I dont think marriage is obsolete.
I think that society as a whole is now paying attention to ALL possible family dynamics... ones that have existed for years.. instead of attempting to give all face credit to married families only.

So marriage is no obsolete, it is only devalued.... which means that it is becoming obsolete because people don't do what does not have value to them.

Is Marriage Becoming Obsolete?

let's hope so

How is marriage's value measured hawkeye? You're not making sense here.

A
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I am not an american and has been married for 2 years now. My marriage was arranged.

Having shared this with most of you who might be married for so many years, I may luk like a kid in its nappy.

Marriage can be easily assumed to be obsolete based on your own observation. For me who has never seen divorces among all the couples I know. The first couple I know personally, who got divorced, was British. I find marriage as a very strong bond. Because it doesnt come along when u r born. More like friendship but socially accepted. Something u work at, attempt to preserve, fall and rise. Introspection, selflessness comes easily to you when u r bound to an other person whome u would have to consider in every decision u make, every action you perform.

For more individualistic people, marriage can be obsolete. But having said that, we must remember that its the oldest ritual performed by all the human race.

I think humans have realised that this bond of marriage is what makes you to follow monogamy, which is one of the most important reason why we are social and family oriented.

With no marriage, can monogamy be assured?

wedding rings do not stop people from having sex outside of their primary relationship.
Marriage does not stop physical acts, nor does it permit them.

No.
You are not hearing me correctly. That was not my point

I am saying that there is more attention given to other aspects of family dynamics now instead of JUST paying attention to married statistics and ONLY basing certain information and presentations on the married population.

I am saying that now, it is more socially acceptable to INCLUDE statistics for gay couples ( who have been around for ever), divorced families, single parents and the like.
Being divorced is not a red hot button anymore.
Having children while single isnt an issue of so called shame based on a chastity ideal.

These statistics and dynamics have not gotten a lot of face time in the media when it comes to being included in society as a whole... instead they have been the quiet little secret, or the part of society to base judgment on and point the finger at but rarely completely included. (My guess!)

I am willing to bet that the amount of people who ARE getting married and who DO think that marriage is extremely important is roughly the same.
It will just APPEAR differently as the other side of society is finally acknowledged and included in statistics. Its simply adding more numbers to the group, when only 1.2 were acknowledged in the first place..

Yes, that was my thought too. Addition rather than subtraction.

Meanwhile, my own experience jibes with what you say re: children from divorced families. My parents' divorce was horrible, and I was very careful about selecting a partner and then about deciding to have a child with him. And part of that was definitely about knowing that this wasn't something to be entered into lightly, that the stakes were high. We're only 18 years into it and our kid is only 10, so it's not like I can say anything definitive about long-term prospects. But in terms of my own mindset as a child of divorce, I definitely take marriage very seriously.

Soz - you're priceless. "We're only 18 years into it..."

Well, since that's about 1/4 of an average lifetime, I'd say you have a very healthy perspective on longevity.

Someone not wearing a ring doesn't make them less committed; they might just believe the institution of marriage is pointless. That doesn't make their commitment less worthy. Not everybody wants to be boxed up.

I agree at least with my personal experience - it can have that effect. My husband is one - he is so adament that the family unit stay together as his family was torn apart when his parents divorced. They split up the 4 kids too - 2 went with one and two went with the other. He says he would never want that to happen to his children.

I could also see some people have the opposite effect and think why marry - it would just end up in divorce.

"39 percent of Americans said marriage was becoming obsolete"

Is that most? I would have thought it would be greater than 50% to be most.

I can see that 39% may say this - considering the divorce rate is 50%. But it still isn't most.

Bull

In my opinion, marriage will continue to be the "gold standard" for little girl's daydreams of being a "winner" as an adult. In my opinion, "marriage" is just the wrapping on the package of a decent husband, with a decent job, where she, as an adult mommy, can have enough money and time to raise her kid(s), with or without a job/career for herself.

And, again in my opinion, boys raised in a family where there appears to be a contented dad, will use that role model of how he too, as an adult man, will be a winner in society's, and his own, eyes.

Many people accept less, but it might be compared to all the women that would prefer "different hair," or men that would prefer "to be taller," but have learned to live with the "hand" they were dealt.

love and marriage
love and marriage
go together like
a horse and carriage
yeah most people today are thinking Toyota Prius.

marriage = boxed up? How so?

http://www.cnn.com/

little boxes, little boxes, little boxes all the same

I just got married so I am certainly not casting aspersions on it! Just many don't feel the need to go that extra step.

Or of making changing your mind and getting out of the relationship more difficult/costly than it needs to be.

Marriage is obsolete for me, but that doesn't mean that it's obsolete for anyone/everyone else. I'd rather be poked in the eye with a sharp stick than endure the 2 years of marriage I experienced, but I know a few who have figured out how to make it* a reasonably pleasant experience. Not many, but a few.


*Marriage, not the eye-poke