Regardless of one’s personal disposition concerning marriage, the fact remains that over the past few decades, there has been a steady decline in the number of people opting for marriage. The statistics are dwindling not only in the United States, but a similar inclination is observed in countries all over the world, irrespective of their geographical location or the socioeconomic status of its people. Several reasons are attributed to this decreasing numeration. While some hold the disproportionate income and wealth distribution accountable for people’s reluctance to get married, for others, it is a matter of religious faith; this is owing to the growing aversion of Catholics towards matrimony. Delayed marriages can also be linked to student debts and inflation of housing costs, forcing people to prioritize their expenses in regard to marriage. An escalation in women’s literacy rates, as well as a surge in their income, has been ascribed to women becoming increasingly self-governing. This autonomy and self-sufficiency result in women either not opting to get married or in delayed marriages caused by the pursuit of a perfect match. Lastly, the generation gap is also a probable explanation of this waning trend since, for many people, this is an outdated ritual that holds no true value in the current times. Whatever the reason may be, the reality is that despite the supportive public policies and legal protections provided for married people, there is a partiality towards cohabiting rather than matrimony. However, the benefits of marriage range from having companionship to favourable outcomes for children and from decreased crime rate to an overall happier life; for many people, the emotional investment and financial cost of this union outweigh the perks. Conclusively, the question that remains is in future, how will this depreciation of the marriage trend impact the public policies and the societal structure at large (Zagorsky, 2016).
Social Media and Relationships
An upsurge in the usage of social media platforms over the past decade has invoked a long-standing debate about its merits and detriments, triggering educationists, policymakers, parents and healthcare professionals to discern its positive and negative impacts on our daily lives. In this regard, one of the core concerns is that of social displacement – devoting increased time to social media interactions as opposed to face-to-face communication. People hold conflicting views about social displacement, with some attributing social media as a cause of diminishing physical socialization and others approaching it with a stance that due to an escalation in connectedness on media platforms, there is a reduced necessity for face-to-face meetings. At one end of the spectrum, social media websites expand the communal horizons for teens, offering a prospect to be connected with distant kin and kin and also acting as a creative outlet for them where they feel liberated to express themselves. On the other hand, there are malefic effects, such as cyberbullying, pornography, violence and hateful speech, which can plague the psychological health of these youngsters and be detrimental to their identity development. The issue of identity confusion might also arise as youngsters strive to create certain personas in the online community in order to gain popularity and acceptability. This struggle to maintain a strategic self-presentation and incoherent self-image can, in the long run, damage a wholesome identity development. Social media usage is also linked to the quality of intimate relationships that teens form, and the proponents of media usage claim that it offers a widened support system, while the opponents regard these as highly superficial and short-lived associations. Though there are numerous expediencies and drawbacks to social media, the reality remains that today’s generation consists of tech-natives, and they relate to it in a totally different manner (Allen, 2019).
References
Allen, S. (2019). Social media’s growing impact on our lives. Retrieved from American Psychological Association: https://www.apa.org/members/content/social-media-research
Zagorsky, J. L. (2016). Why are fewer people getting married? Retrieved from The Conversation: https://theconversation.com/why-are-fewer-people-getting-married-60301
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