With single parenting and cohabitation (when a couple shares a residence but not a marriage) becoming more acceptable in recent years, people may be less motivated to get married. In a recent survey, 39 percent of respondents answered “yes” when asked whether marriage is becoming obsolete (Pew Research Center 2010). The institution of marriage is likely to continue, but some previous patterns of marriage will become outdated as new patterns emerge. In this context, cohabitation contributes to the phenomenon of people getting married for the first time at a later age than was typical in earlier generations (Glezer 1991). Furthermore, marriage will continue to be delayed as more people place education and career ahead of “settling down.”
The people that are just OK with cohabitation rather than marriage surprise me but then it makes sense when we get to the next Section and they talk about one partner or many. The reason why more people are OK with cohabitation is because it’s less commitment rather than actually proposing a marriage, people want to still feel like they have the option to leave.(so they don’t feel trapped) It’s like they’re afraid of not having freedom or just afraid of the commitment in general.