And marriage rates are down significantly too [0] because... you don't have to?
I was born in the 80's and I grew up with nothing but cynicism and pessimism about relationships and marriage; even then it was something like "40% of marriages end in divorce", or that most relationships don't last and that the few that do and get glorified / romanticised is survivorship bias. It made me think "What is the point?". Add that with a load of repeated messages that men are shallow and horny pigs that objectify and abuse women, it really wasn't encouraging.
I was born in the 80's and I grew up with nothing but cynicism and pessimism about relationships and marriage; even then it was something like "40% of marriages end in divorce", or that most relationships don't last and that the few that do and get glorified / romanticised is survivorship bias. It made me think "What is the point?". Add that with a load of repeated messages that men are shallow and horny pigs that objectify and abuse women, it really wasn't encouraging.
[0] https://ourworldindata.org/marriages-and-divorces