With the recent ruling from the Supreme Court of the United States allowing same-sex marriage everywhere, social media add into the buzz with countless posts of couples rushing to court houses to finally tie the legal knot. I couldn’t help but wonder what is the state of marriage in our country and is it truly as risky as some may claim it to be (that it’s a coin toss with a fifty percent chance for divorce)?
With a bit of data mining thanks to the US Census Current Population Survey conducted since 1950, it is a delight to conclude that the longevity of a marriage on average is not as risky as a coin toss. Among those ever married, less than a fifth result in divorce with Asians being the most likely to stay married compared to other races. Though the divorce rate isn’t as bad as we’ve imagined it to be, it is undeniable that it is on an upward trajectory as the rate of marriage has consistently decreased most notably following the Free Love era.
The million dollar question now is what are the driving factors that are causing lovers to increasingly not commit and even split. Has our society’s expectations on marriage changed? Or is it easier to get a divorce today? Perhaps it a less obvious factor such as technology impacting how we interact within relationships?
