Why Don't Young People Want to Get Married Anymore?

Source: Buzzfeed  wedding site

In modern society, there are always many people talking about marriage. On the contrary, there are actually more young people now who are planning to postpone or even reconsider whether to enter into marriage. Compared with the past, marriage does not seem to be regarded by many as a reasonable life arrangement by many people, but a personal decision that needs to be considered repeatedly.

In recent years, the topic of marriage has frequently appeared on social media platforms, triggering discussion and sharing among many young people. Behind this phenomenon, social media is gradually becoming an important factor affecting young people's marriage choices. For many young people, their understanding of marriage no longer comes mainly from family or real-life experience, but from the constantly updated flow of information.

On social media platforms such as TikTok, Instagram and Douyin, the content about marriage has shown a high degree of polarisation.On the one hand, it is a carefully edited clip of a happy marriage or emphasising that a single life is good. On the other hand, it is a real or semi-real sharing after conflict, stress and even divorce.This coexisting structure makes marriage a not a stable concept, but more like a topic that is constantly discussed and compared.

Psychologist Dr Janice Tee in an interview with us, it was pointed out that this information environment is changing the way young people understand marriage."There are many creators of these content, but I think you need to have judgement to choose what you want to see." She said

She believes that the problem with social media is not only a lot of information, but algorithms constantly strengthen what users are interested in. For example, if you often see some real sharing after divorce, you often find similar information, which deepens a certain single perception, but also plunges people into an endless comparison.

In this environment, many young people have begun to rethink the relationship between marriage and happiness, and are also assessing whether marriage is suitable for them. In the heated discussion on the Internet, many young people will ask the same question: "If marriage doesn't make me happier than I am now, why should I get married?" This also shows young people's rethinking of the value of marriage.

"Many young people's first reaction to marriage is anxiety or avoidance. They are reluctant to easily enter or define a relationship."  Dr Janice Tee said.

She said that at the core of this change is not that young people completely refuse marriage, it is that many young people have a sense of anxiety and uncertainty about marriage.

At the same time, socio-economic pressure and life instability have further reinforced this hesitation. When work, income and living conditions are not stable, marriage, as a long-term commitment, will allow young people to make a more rigorous realistic assessment of it.

In addition,  Dr Janice Tee  also mentioned that family background and growth experience also affect a person's attitude towards marriage. Some people grow up in an unstable family environment or experience family conflicts, so they will be more cautious in intimate relationships.With the combination of these factors, young people have become more cautious and hesitant in the face of marriage.

There is no standard answer to whether marriage can bring happiness. But in the era of information explosion, social media provided young people with more different voices, allowing them to start thinking about the meaning of marriage.In the face of various views and choices, how to maintain independent judgement may be more important than simply answering "married or not married".