Top-Rated Free Essay
Preview

Is There a Necessity for Marriage at This Time and Age

Good Essays
760 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Is There a Necessity for Marriage at This Time and Age
Is there a necessity for marriage in this time and age?
A marriage is arguably losing its appeal as claimed by many. It is now likely to become one of the lifestyle choices. Cohabitation too, although once considered as a “testing ground” for future marriage, leads to unstable marital status in the long term. Factors which contribute to the failure of marriages are lack of commitment, value change and emancipitation of women.
Marriage is an important institution of society, whether in the past or today. It is a ‘contract’ between two people to live their lives together as well as share weal and woe. Such relationships can be likened to the characteristics of glue. It keeps families together and builds societies. Thus, if people get married without the commitment of living together permanently, the marriage will be a mockery.
However, the term ‘marriage’ is redefined by recent statistics. Research suggests that the institution of wedlock gradually becomes unpopular. Among young people aged 18 to 24, only 9 percent were married in 2010, plummeting from fifty years earlier, when the number was 45 percent. Among the next older group of adults, aged 25 to 34, 44 percent were married last year -- just over half the percentage in 1960, 82 percent. These are among the findings in a new Pew Research Center analysis, based on U.S. Census Bureau data.
An argument in which marriage may be unnecessary is mainly because of its high divorce rates. Modern civilisation leads to individualistic cultures among many citizens. It is common to see now in which couples pay people to do the things they used to accomplish in a partnership. Restaurants and fast food outlets, once relegated to special family outings, are now a major source of sustenance. There are agencies that will cater "home-cooked meals" to family or have them all set for pick-up. Additionally, tedious household chores like cleaning toilets are performed by mostly maids. Children are being sent to “day-care centres” too. These cause a lack of commitment for both partners to achieve an ideal home together.
Secondly, it is the value change of the younger generations which contributes to low statistics of marriages. The shrinking of religious beliefs encourage more tolerance towards anti social behavior. As younger people are more secularised, they came to cherish individual freedom of choices as opposed to existing institution. Hence, the growth of extra-marital sex, abortion and divorce accelerate due to their individual rights for self-actualisation.
Another vital point to be made is that women are retreating from marriage as they go into the workplace. This is especially common in Asia as the chances for women both being employed and married are not as much as in Asia. Women are viewed as the primary caregivers for husbands, children and, often, for ageing parents; and even when they have their careers, they are expected to continue to play this significant role. Therefore it is noticeable that there is enormous stress on the shoulders of Asian women. According to a National Survey in Japan, Japanese women, who typically work 40 hours a week in the office, then do, on average, another 30 hours of housework. Their husbands, on average, do three hours. Not surprisingly, Asian women have a pessimistic view of marriage.
In contrast to the previous points, a solid family with certificate of marriage gives status for children who then have no need to turn to junevile deliquents, to feel accepted. Within a traditional family the identity of a child is able to develop. Identity is essential for vision, growth, and unity. Without correct identity, nations and communities cannot progress or develop unity because there are so many different identities and no common cause. Marriage is perhaps not outdated because we still see unity today and must see it in the future.
It is imperative to note that marriage symbolises a loving committed relationship. Couples should lay out a foundation to tie their knots together to realise that support, trust and commitment are more important. It is not advisable for couples to live in a more relaxed and irresponsible relationship when as parents they have child’s welfare to worry about.
Based on the above discussions, I agree to a great extent that there is utmost necessity for marriage in this time and age. After all, a great marriage is not when the 'perfect couple' comes together. It is when an imperfect couple learns to enjoy their differences. Perhaps a form of revolution may bring us to have happy anticipation towards marriages.

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    As stated in our text, various factors can bind married couples together, such as economic interdependencies, legal, social and moral constraints, relationship, and amongst other things. In the recent years some of these factors have diminished their strengths. The modern generation sees marriage in a different perspective altogether. Individuals today feel they are stable independently, they do not need to rely on their spouse for emotional or financial support. Many are career driven and soar to conquer their dreams over settling down with a family. Such untraditional views have increased divorce rates.…

    • 740 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Marriage is a fear for some men and a fairy tale dream for most women. A marriage is a commitment between two people. Two people who declare their love for one another. Two people who initially share the same realistic goal to be with each other for a lifetime, without any doubts. In the reading, “Could Temporary Marriages Reduce the Alarming Rate of Divorce?” by Natalie Rivera explains the idea that temporary marriages can be the ideal matter for some people who do not want to be committed. However, Rivera does not believe in this herself, she believes temporary marriages are not to take into account as a “traditional marriage” because it overwhelms everything about it being traditional. In today’s age group there is nothing traditional about marriage, this generation we live in has changed the meaning of what “traditional” is it’s no longer a realistic goal for most people in this day and age; it’s not what our society is following up with.…

    • 862 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Marriage is the legal relationship between two people in eyes of law. Over the last 50 years or so, the patterns of marriage and divorce have changed significantly and are still changing in today’s society. This is due to many factors such as less stigma, changes in women’s positions, secularization ,cohabitation and many more.…

    • 730 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    One reason is changing social attitudes. Religion regarded cohabitation as ‘living in sin’, but today there is less shame attached to it. Barlow et al found increasing acceptance of cohabitation. This shows that the change in religions social attitude, cohabitation is accepted more, leading to an increase in cohabitation. Some people prefer love that focuses of on intimacy, closeness and emotion rather than the duties of marriage. Giddens argues that there has been a trend towards confluent love. This love focuses on the intimacy, closeness and emotion of a relationship, rather than the feelings of obligation and duty that is in vows at marriage. When a marriage no longer has confluent love, the relationship is likely to end. This shows that monogamy may start being replaced by serial monogamy, in which cohabitation is most suited to. However, the ONS found that 60% of cohabiting couples will eventually end in marriage showing that monogamy can often replace serial monogamy. There is less pressure to follow traditional norms and values. Beck and Beck-Gernshiem argue that individualism has led to changing attitudes towards cohabitation and marriage. There is less pressure to follow the norms and values around love and relationships set by family, religion or culture. This shows that the change in attitudes has led to people making their own decision about whether they marry or cohabitate. The acceptance of sex outside marriage has made it more likely that cohabitation will occur. Allan and Crow argue that effective contraception has made it possible for partners to cohabit without fear of pregnancy. This alongside the acceptance of sex before marriage means cohabitation without marriage is likely to occur. This shows that the change in social attitudes towards sex outside of marriage has led to an increase in cohabitation.…

    • 585 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Andrew Cherlin's article The Deinstitutionalization of Marriage is an analytical evaluation of the changing themes of the American approach to the relevance of marriage and its evolution over the past century. Through a method of statistical analysis of the changing ideologies and practices of Americans in regards to the institution of marriage Cherlin is able to show that marriage has now become an option rather than a necessity.…

    • 1198 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Why people get married? People get married for various reasons, mostly because of a desire of companionship, intact parenthood, and partnership. Happy marriage increases the lifespan. Marriage has a great impact on a human’s life, it is not only a cultural tradition, but also a need to acquire emotional support, protection and stability. In terms of finances, maintaining one household is cheaper than two. Moreover, singles tend to spend money on entertainment and fancy “extras”, whereas married people think more about saving for future. Most people understand that being married is more prestigious and financially beneficial. Stereotypes are still alive in the human’s mind so married individual could be perceived as mature and receive more respect at workplace.…

    • 760 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Marriage provides an idea of life commitment with another partner. In which shared family values are develop. Most couples marry their selected spouse on the terms that they share similar values. These may adapt or change in the course of the marriage, but ideally the…

    • 763 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    In this year’s essay, David Popenoe argues that long-term trends point to the gradual weakening of marriage as the primary social institution of family life. More Americans today are living together, marrying at older ages or not at all, and rearing children in cohabiting or solo parent households. Overall, the U.S. trends are following the far-advanced trends toward nonmarriage in Northwestern European nations, albeit at a slower and more uneven pace.…

    • 9349 Words
    • 38 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Marriages Decline

    • 902 Words
    • 4 Pages

    “Marriage has declined as the central institution under which households are organized and children are raised,” Smith said. “People marry later and divorce and cohabitate more. A growing proportion of children has been born outside of marriage.”…

    • 902 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    A fear of divorce is also something heavily influencing trends in both marriage and cohabitation. Young people, having perhaps experienced parental divorce are feared of entering into a commitment that they are simply not sure about, this sometimes seems like a reasonable thing to do considering the high divorce rate, a third of marriages currently ending in divorce. This would of course increase cohabitation as more and more people wish to enter into what Chester deems a ‘trial marriage’, to ensure marital…

    • 680 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Doyle, R. (1999). The Decline of Marriage. Scientific American, 36, 78-85. Retrieved July 24, 2010 from Academic Search Complete database.…

    • 2035 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    We live in a time when marriage means different things to different people. Whether or not we view marriage traditionally or non-traditionally, most respect the institution and the commitment it takes to honor such a commitment. In the article, “For Better, For Worse: Marriage Means Something Different Now,” author Stephanie Coontz writes about how the institution of marriage has changed over time and encourages us to consider what constitutes a successful marriage. The recipe for a successful marriage has been modeled for me by my parents and grandparents as a lifelong relationship rooted in faith, love, and an unwavering commitment to the journey.…

    • 731 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    As society’s view of a ‘conventional family’ has changed over the last 40 years, the variety of acceptable norms has increased drastically. In the past, an unmarried woman or spinster would be looked down on in society ,as it was a norm that a woman should be married with children. If they didn’t they would be judged as there was a problem with them so that they couldn’t have kids or a husband. The average age for a women first getting married in 1961 was 23.1 this has risen to 30 by June 2009. This shows that women are now waiting longer for their first marriage. This is down to many different reasons. Single women aren’t looked down on by the majority of people today, they are viewed as strong, independent women. This means that there is next to no pressure for women to get married quickly. This has resulted in the rise in cohabitation. Marriage is no longer seen as the definition of a proper relationship by society. 40 years ago, living together outside of marriage was a rarity; however cohabitation can now be seen as a socially acceptable alternative to marriage. This is partly due to the changing attitudes to sexual relationships mean that sex…

    • 1889 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    The 20th century has been the scene of rapid social change. Educational, political, economic and religious institutions have been changing and morphing as the century progressed. These institutional changes have impacted individuals and families in dramatic ways. Gender roles have changed, family mobility has increased, fertility has declined and union formation patterns have become more fluid and less stable (Morrison, 2015). Over the past 40 years cohabitation has moved from being viewed as a deviant form of union formation to the preferred social norm as a transition from dating to marriage. Cohabitation is when a couple lives together for an extended period as if they were married, but is not a legal agreement. Many couples that are planning…

    • 268 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Marriage is not just a formal union of a man and a woman that was recognized by law, by which they become husband and wife. A marriage is beyond a tie between two people. There are commitments that they must take after they get married. The capability of the couple to play their role will portray their family wellness. The reckless decision to get married without a mature thinking and plans could lead to serious problems and even crime. There are aspects that people should consider before getting married in order to get a harmonious and long-lasting marriage. This includes age, stability of the financial and the congeniality of the couple.…

    • 711 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays