The Spectator The independent student newspaper of Valdosta State University
Written by Mayah Centave, Asst. Opinions Editor
There was a belief that young people born in the early 1980’s through the late 1990’s are starting their lives sooner meaning getting married, having kids and starting careers younger.
However this is not the case for the young people in this generation.
According to the Wall Street Journal, millennials are waiting a lot longer to dive into life’s milestones.
Marriage trends continue to show that the reason for the delay varies from class to education.
Studies by sites such as Demographic Intelligence have shown that millennials are delaying marriage and having kids, but admitting to starting careers as soon as possible. The most interesting thing about these studies was that these young adults opt to live together and put off getting married.
Experts have many theories on why exactly this phenomenon is occurring. Some of these theories explain how many people are delaying marriage to further their education and attempt to get grounded in their careers.
According to a Pew Research Center analysis of Current Population Survey data, about 25 percent of young couples, ages 25 to 34, are living with a partner.
Bentley University did a study on the average marriage ages in the United States and the numbers negate any ideas of millennials starting life earlier. The study said that the median age for marriage is age 29 for men and 27 for women. These numbers are drastically different from the median age in the 1960’s in which the age for marriage from men was 23 and 20 for women.
According to the American Community Survey, there is about a 56 percent income increase for college-educated women who waited later in life to get married compared to the women who married before the age of 20 years old.
All in all college educated women are reaping the benefits of delaying marriage and having kids.
These trends of delaying marriage and kids will continue to change. As gender roles adjust and as the idealistic views of marriage change, the world will continue to evolve and change societal norms.
