Generation Me: Postponing Adulthood

Today's youth are stressed and isolated in a hyper-connected, no-negativity culture. Cohesiveness towards a generational identity can be difficult to find right now when much of today's youth cultures still live in the shadow of the dramatic changes undertaken by 1960's youth... And this lack of identity seems to be having a devastating effect on the value of marriage among young people today.  

Population Reference Bureau 

Finding a lifelong partner could probably be described as the foundation of any human society. The reasons and methods have always varied among different cultures but one common trend can be found across them all, youth have always been very enthusiastic about it. Whether simply discounted as raging hormones or maybe instead an admirable pursuit of true love, hooking-up has always been a major pillar of youth culture.  Traditional marriage has had many facets, there are many reasons why couples decide to marry, but the history of the institution was rooted in the very pragmatic aspirations of families joining their sons and daughters together for mutual benefit to the families as a whole, mostly for financial benefit. This may seem old fashion but it was not long ago that some southern bell would wait attentively on her front porch for a cultured gentleman to offer his hand in marriage, with her parent’s reply often being “How big's your pocket-book?".

Fast forward only 50 years to the advent of youth culture in the 1960's and love became the dominate factor for these young couples. They were disillusioned with the idea that others may profit from their love, so much so that any sort of formalities were severed from love. These new bohemian rules meant nothing had to be pinned down, planned and negotiated, peace and love were all that the youth of that age claimed to have wanted. Although in retrospect, a prenup may have been a good idea.

DemocraticUnderground

Being laissez-faire about the whole issue of marriage continued with the following generations of youth culture, but the pendulum swung from true love to raging hormones. Of course with Gen-X being a little more jaded, they gave up the peace & love mantra but kept the sex. Once again the institution of marriage was made even less of a priority by Gen-X when compared to the pursuit of self empowerment through personal growth like higher education, personal physical fitness and higher levels of wealth. These are all hallmarks of the Gen-X'ers and their YUPPIE life-style.

Gordon Gekko

Today's youth, Gen-Y, are now mostly just entering their adult years. But for the front end of the generation, those born in the early 80's, the marriage trends don't look very good, as they are taking longer than ever to say "I do".  In many ways youth of today are in lockstep with the values of 1960's youth culture because they can't escape it. As Baby-Boomers from the 60's still live on and dominate the culture, not to mention Gen-X who are just hitting their stride, Millennial might be finding it difficult to come into their own.  Gen-Y may eventually return to more traditional values, reinterpreted in their own ways, but will have to contend with not being the center of attention like those generations who preceded them. Although they might have some trouble getting over themselves after living at home for so long. 

  George Carlin - Part of the "Silent-Generation"