According to new analysis of U.S. Census data, millennials have driven down the divorce rate nearly 20 percent. The new research shows that compared to Generation X, Millennials are waiting longer to get married, and are “pickier” about their lifelong partner.
Sociologist Philio Cohen “attributes the overall drop ‘entirely’ to younger women, as it seems they are more likely to delay their vows.”
There are a few factors affecting millennials marriage trends. Millennials are becoming the most educatedgeneration. It is becoming more common for young people to spend at least a few years at a university after high school. As a result, millennials are more likely to put off marriage until after they get a degree.
The correlation between college education and more stable finances is well understood. A marriage between two educated people has proven to be a good choice. Further analysis of the U.S. Census data shows “Younger people are making the commitment at times in their lives when their education is completed, careers are underway and finances are more stable.”
Additionally, the generation that raised millennials left a lasting impact in their thinking about marriage. The most recent data shows that up to 25 percent of millennials were raised by unmarried parents. Growing up with divorced parents shaped the way many young adults view relationships, marriage, and divorce.
Cohen explains that marriage is described as “rare” for millennials. He argues that millennials are in more successful marriages because they “don’t feel pressured to marry before they have sex.”
Millennials have made apps like Tinder and Bumble—typically used for “hooking up”—very popular. Hook up culture is usually seen as a downfall of this generation; however, it seems that one positive outcome from casual relationships is that people are putting off serious marital type relationships until they are ready.