Marriage Obsolete?
For centuries, economic security was the reason to say I do. Marriage thrived as a practical way to divide labor, allocate resources, have children and arrange for someone to take care of you when you got old.
Now, people's desire to be happy trumps society's more "old-fashioned" interest in stability.
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When asked why they tied the knot, 93 percent of respondents said love, 87 percent said making a lifelong commitment, 81 percent said companionship, 59 percent said having children and all the way at the bottom of the list was financial stability, at 31 percent.
Will a social institution built on love have the same longevity as one built on economic security?
Back in 1960, 72 percent of all adults in this country were married. Now, that number hovers at 52 percent.
Not only are more people getting divorced. More people are saying, I don't.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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