Have People Abandoned Marriage?

हिंदी में पढ़े : क्या लोगों ने विवाह को छोड़ दिया है?

← Read the previous part: Marriage Is Not Ending — The Quiet Revolution Behind Changing Attitudes Toward Marriage

“People have not abandoned love. Perhaps they have begun moving away from marriages entered into hastily.”

When we examine changing patterns of marriage around the world, one question naturally arises—

Have people begun abandoning marriage?

At first glance, it may appear so.

In many countries, people are marrying later than previous generations. According to 2025 U.S. Census Bureau data, the estimated median age at first marriage in the United States was 30.8 years for men and 28.4 years for women. In 1975, those figures were 23.5 and 21.1 years, respectively.

This change is certainly significant.

However, it is important to recognize one crucial distinction—

Marrying later and rejecting marriage altogether are not the same thing.

If someone marries at the age of 32, that does not necessarily mean they have rejected marriage. They may have chosen to complete their education, establish a career, achieve financial stability, or wait until they found the right life partner.

Recent Pew Research Center data from the United States provides further clarity.

In a 2025 survey, 63% of non-LGBTQ American adults aged 18–49 who had never married said they wanted to marry at some point in the future. Twelve percent said they did not want to marry, while 25% were uncertain.

These findings do not suggest that most unmarried people oppose marriage.

Many people are simply not yet ready for marriage.

This is where social perceptions often oversimplify reality.

We may look at someone and say—

“They are not married.”

But we do not know what they are thinking or experiencing.

Perhaps they are searching for the right partner.

Perhaps they became cautious after witnessing their parents’ failed marriage.

Perhaps they want to devote several more years to their career.

Perhaps they are not financially prepared.

Perhaps they are concerned about choosing the wrong person.

Or perhaps…

They genuinely do not want to marry.

These circumstances cannot all be reduced to the single phrase—

“avoiding marriage.”

What Has Changed in People’s Attitudes Toward Marriage?

In the past, marriage was often regarded as a natural and almost inevitable stage of life.

A certain age…

Then a job…

Then marriage…

Then children…

And eventually, a family.

To a considerable extent, society had already established this sequence of life.

In modern society, however, this sequence has become more flexible.

People may now pursue higher education first.

Then establish a career.

Then travel.

Then achieve financial independence.

And only afterward consider marriage.

Some people are able to structure their lives without marrying.

As a result, marriage is no longer an unavoidable stage of life for many people, but rather one option among several.

However, becoming an option does not mean losing its importance.

This distinction is essential.

Do People Really Want to Live Alone?

Here, too, we need to be precise.

Being unmarried does not necessarily mean being alone.

A person may be unmarried while still having a loving relationship, close friends, family support, and strong social connections.

Conversely, a married person may still experience emotional loneliness.

According to a 2025 analysis by the Pew Research Center, 42% of adults in the United States were not living with a spouse or romantic partner in 2023, compared with 44% in 2019. During the same period, the share of married adults increased from 50% to 51%, while the share of people living with an unmarried partner rose from 6% to 7%.

The broader picture, therefore, is not simply one of “people abandoning marriage.”