Marriage has been a part of human culture for thousands of years and almost all cultures and religions on the planet have some sort of partnership ceremony. In some cultures, men are allowed to have multiple wives, but in most places marriage is limited to one man and one woman. In recent times marriage has become less popular, however, and it suffered a dramatic decline in the middle to late twentieth century - partly due to increased divorce rates but also because many couples chose not to marry at all. The traditional concept of marriage has also been challenged in recent years by gay couples, who believe that they should have the same opportunities to get married as straight couples (Bowles, 165).
Fidelity is not a natural state for human beings, especially when they are young adults and their sex drive is at its strongest. Most married sex lives fade over time, which can lead to affairs and other forms of infidelity, such as the use of prostitutes, even in the most well-intentioned people. Many couples get stuck in a rut, repeating the same arguments over and over. The key differences in their personalities never go away. Petty problems, irritating habits, become magnified over time. Marriage restricts the freedom of individual. Single people can happily live their lives pretty much as they please without having to be concerned with the needs or wishes of others. Marriage means that couples have to deal with their partner's family, which can be a source of problems and conflict.
Discussion
Getting married can add lots of extra bureaucracy and red tape to a relationship, especially when the wife changes her name and official documents such as social security, driving licenses have to be changed. Society has moved on and the traditional idea of marriage is outdated. Rather than seeing marriage as the one way that people should follow, we should embrace the various different sorts of human relationships and treat them all equally, such as one parent families, homosexual relationships, etc. Relationships should be purely personal and less formal. Marriage is about seeking approval from the civil authorities, or a religion, when it should just be the two people in the relationship that matter (Le, 33). There can sometimes be situations where there are financial disadvantages to being married.
Divorce costs can also be huge if you make a mistake and marry the wrong person. Marriage ceremonies can be very expensive and extremely stressful. Marriage can extend the time that couples stay together in a bad or unhealthy relationship, when it would be better if they split - for instance, where the couple are clearly ill-suited, or even where there is physical or emotional abuse going on, they may be tempted to stay together because of religious or cultural taboos over breaking up a marriage.
Previous research has consistently found that married men earn more than single men, although the precise value of the marriage premium varies between studies, ranging from approximately three to thirty ...