Over the weekend, I had the chance to study a long list of social changes happening in the modern world that have some significant implications for the family. They are as follows:
1) Premarital Sex ^
2) Births out of Wedlock ^
3) Living Alone ^
4) Cohabitation ^
5) Delayed Marriage
6) Birth Rate Falling
7) Household Size Falling
8) Employed Mothers ^
9) Divorce ^
("^" means that the rates are going up)
Now, while some might not seem very significant or detrimental to family life (like, more people are living alone, so what? Or waiting to get married--is that such a big deal?), follow my lead and take another look. Upon inspection, all these trends are so closely related and interconnected that they all affect each other. For example, take the fact that people are waiting longer to get married. Why could that be seen as a problem?
Well, women that wait till 26/27/28 to get married (because, say, they are too dedicated to their career) might find that their biological window for having kids is a lot smaller now and, therefore, won't be able to have as many kids. This contributes to the falling birth rate and household sizes, as well as to more lonely, unsatisfied people.
Also, WHY are people delaying marriage? Several of these patterns apply to this question as well. Because premarital sex and cohabitation are common practices now-a-days, people can get some of the benefits and pleasures from being married without having to make that commitment.
And that was just one example. See if you can find more connections between these social changes and how they can effect the future of families of the United States.
Till Next Time!
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