Regardless of individual sexual orientation, it is hard to be ecstatic about a concept that has historically banned a portion of the population from partaking in it. There are a number of other social aspects of marriage are no longer a necessity for today's youth.
At one point in time, it was frowned upon by society for women to work outside of the home. Where it was once a kind of career step for women, having an actual career has become more important than landing a husband. Women are becoming breadwinners, which means they are more likely to take on the financial burden when they wed. As Catherine Rampell of The New York Times writes "According to a Pew Research Center analysis, four in 10 American households with children under the age of 18 now include a mother who is either the sole or primary earner for her family" (2013). That may be one reason why the Urban Institute "projects that 30 percent of Millennial women will not be married by the age of 40" (Rampell 2013). Female empowerment has also been connected to divorce rates. According to The New York Times, "women with greater earning power have greater economic security that allows them to leave bad marriages" (Rampell 2013). As a result of all this, people are wary of what they are walking into. They may have higher standards for their marriages. Another possibility is that they may have constructed different, fulfilling sorts of relationships that do not involve a legal contract.
Eric Klinenburg, a NYU sociologist and author of the book Going Solo, finds that not only are there many more single people than anybody thought (one in two adults lives alone in Manhattan), but that they are thriving. Single people have been found to volunteer more, have more friends, go out more in their neighborhoods, and even have the potential to go much further in their careers (Klinenburg, 2012). Compared with their married counterparts, single people, even the older ones, are much more likely to spend time with friends and neighbors, volunteer, attend art classes, and do other social activities.
