It’s quite obvious that marriage is becoming a huge ordeal in our society. In the past, everyone looked forward to getting married by their early 20s, mid 20s max! Now, people could be well into their 30s without even having considered tying the knot.

The main reason marriage isn’t as popular anymore is because it’s gotten insanely costly. Not just the wedding preparations, but the actual cost of marriage itself from high rentals and taxes to personal and child expenses .

That being said, many who could afford it still don’t wish to get married. Even some of the ones who can’t afford it aren’t even making the effort to save up for marriage which means that the financial barrier is an excuse for some, but not for all. What’s the real reason behind the recent unpopularity of marriage? Identity came up with a reasonable analysis based on responses of people in their mid-20s and early 30s and who belong to diverse socioeconomic backgrounds.

The previous generation made us resent marriage

While many couples are generally happy, others have been struggling with their broken homes. Getting divorced was an easier less complicated decision for our parents’ than for our grandparents’ generation, which made us apprehensive about the whole idea of marriage and commitment. Some of us had to live their miserable childhoods through their parents’ non-stop fighting, ultimately believing that it’s the norm for all married couples. Most people don’t want to end up like their parents, so they gave up on marriage. They also don’t want their kids to go through what they’ve been through, which leads to the next point.

We don’t want to have kids

The majority of young adults don’t want to have kids. Some fear that their kids might have to witness their failed marriages; others simply don’t want to bring kids to this ugly world. The world is already overpopulated, and not good enough for anyone to live in it.

We’re not independent 

Our parents spoiled us rotten! No matter how old we are, they still give us money when we need it and host us in their homes. We don’t get to move out and venture into the real world until we are married; we didn’t learn how to handle real life situations and become responsible because they did EVERYTHING for us. You could find people well in their 30s who don’t even know how to use a washing machine, so how can they take care of a house and a family on their own?

We literally don’t have time

Back in the day, life was simple. There were no distractions – no internet, no binge watching, no smart phones, no cafes, NOTHING! We spend, on average, 8 hours sleeping, 10 hours at work, 2 hours in traffic, leaving us with only 4 hours of free time! A marriage can’t survive on 4 hours per day, and a day or 2 during the weekend. It will never work!

We simply don’t need it

Dating became somewhat the norm; anyone could get involved without the commitment. We’re getting all the emotional support, the fun and everything else we need, really. So why would we get married?

Of course, this doesn’t apply to everyone, but it’s the case for most! We’re starting to understand why the Western cultures aren’t really interested in marriage, and it looks like we’re morphing into something similar.