Hi Chris,
I'm in my 30s and I'm thoroughly enjoying my work as well as my social life, especially online. However, despite many of my friends saying they feel the same, I’m under a lot of pressure from my family to get married. What can I say to get them off my case?
Later
Chris says,
Hi Later!
Older family members struggle to understand those in their 20s and 30s. They think you’re materialistic and focused on style and image. They blame the internet for that, but will acknowledge that it’s also made you more assertive and receptive to new ideas.
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They often say you’re not competitive enough and have completely unrealistic expectations of how life really works. And they’re not 100 per cent wrong! Just look at how many millennials are still living in their parents’ home, or being supported by them.
Some argue that it’s just a reflection of the high cost of living and their parents' affluence. But it probably also reflects millennials' willingness to sacrifice independence for a good life.
Earlier generations didn’t consider anyone an adult until they’d married and started a family of their own. But people nowadays are more likely to define ‘adult’ in terms of personal characteristics rather than the traditional rites of passage.
This has resulted in far fewer millennials getting married compared to previous generations, to the distress of their parents! In fact, many millennials will likely stay single all their lives, rather than forming new families.
Global surveys suggest that something like half of all millennials, both men and women, have no plans to have children at all.
And that they’re also having less sex! Probably because they don’t spend much time developing serious long-term relationships. Online dating also tends to make that worse, because while you can meet more people online, you’re less likely to become committed to them.
So all you can do is explain to your family that millennials really are different. And changing the world. Because millennials’ lower interest in marriage means that birth rates are falling everywhere. And where that’s all leading, nobody knows.
All the best,
Chris