Why do you think divorce is so much more common today than it was in our grandparents day?

Question

Are our expectations too high? Too unrealistic? Are we less willing to overlook and forgive? My grandparents were married for over 50 years. Most of my friends growing up had grandparents who lived all their lives together. They may have hated each other at times, but they stayed together. Of course, life is too short to stay in a bad relationship, and staying together till you both shall die can be a life sentence.

Answer 1

WHen you filled out a questionnaire about your others half's desired charasterstics and the computers tries to match you
20 points to their 20 or so points..

it is bound to last 20 or so days

unlike your grand parents, who tried to see face to face and get to know each other as life passed by , untill one fine day they decided to tie the knot. they sure have matched a 1000 points and created a vision of how this relation is going to be in future

Now a days , it comes in to-go's so people just drop the trash at the next corner. as they did not have time to eat.

Answer 2

I believe Divorce is so much more common in today's society for a number of reasons. Today we are being taught to have a mentality of everything is disposable, if something is broke don't fix it go buy a new one, if your tired of one thing throw it away and go get something else, there are more fish in the sea, so why cant girlfriends and wives be disposable too. In a world where we try to find an Easy Button and make things more convenient, it is easier to give up on the relationship, than to have to work it out. The easy button is the easy way out, Divorce. Now days relationships are much more commonly built on physical attraction, rather than trust and morals. Take a look at clothing and movies, billboards, the Internet, and even just common conversation topics you will find sex sex sex and more sex. Infidelity is on the rise, morals are going out the window, and the fact relationship aren't always easy are contributing factors. As well as the concept of family is being severely distorted, a family is supposed to be a man and his wife and there children. but now it is being more and more accepted for women and women, men and men, children are shipped off to day cares, and not as much real family time is spent together unless is it sitting in front of a TV screen or some other form of multi media or other gadget.

Answer 3

Women have many more viable (economic, etc.) options today than they had in our grandparents' day. I think that the nature of marriage has changed in the last 100 years or so. It is no longer a primarily economic and social arrangement.
My grandparents (both sets) argued with each other every day. Perhaps that is why my sister and I were the center of our grandmothers' lives. Our grandparents would have been better off separated. But that was unthinkable in the upstate NY of 40-50 years ago.

Answer 4

Economic reasons made it difficult for a woman to want or even think of a divorce. More often than not, if the woman was to leave, the children were left behind. How would she maintain a family or a household without the provisions of a spouse? Until the early 20th century women weren't allowed to vote, and only in the early 19th century were women allowed to own their property with strict rulings regarding a missing spouse. Holding a job was quite another thing.
With more women in the work force being their own security, they are less prone to rely on a spouse to take care of them. Equality has become the new buzzword in relationships. Equal shares in all aspects. I know that I don't need a man in my life, however, I do want one.

Answer 5

its the EASY way outidea that people have in thier heads today...Life today is all about how easy things can bee..fast food...ATM's..Drive through DIVORCE...all these things are just tools for the easy life, sort of speak....We Live in a fast paced world now..cell phones, cable internet, sports cars that do 0 - 60 in 2.5 sec..

When my grand parents where young, you had to plow the fields, wake up and feed the livestock...

Yes the divorce rate has gone through the roof as time has gradually slipped on by...just think of what it is going to be like in another 50 years

Answer 6

I blame (or credit) the women's movement. A generation ago people did stay together regardless. Then in the 50s women decided that they wanted to escape the constraints of marriage. Men followed suit. Now people don't stay together if they don't want to.

Answer 7

Because it was socially unacceptable to divorce, and because the family was more involved in choosing the spouse. Television was less important, phones were stationary, and the internet didn't exist, talking about sex was taboo, so people spent time learning the art of conversation and getting to know each other.

Answer 8

Not really . it just wasn't talked about as much back then. put in the closet so to speak.
Most relations last only three to five years before one side or the other realizes that they married for the wrong reasons or that they married the wrong person. Or just became quickly bored with each other.

Answer 9

People expect life to be too easy, and are unwilling to put the necessary work into making a marriage last. Plus, divorce doesn't have the same stigma to it that it used to. People aren't so afraid that they'll ruin their reputation.

Answer 10

today's generation is overwhelmed by CHOICE. we have so many options it is nearly impossible to know when we are sure of anything. also, morals are lower and institutions like marriage have been cheapened, so 'divorce' isn't as dirty a word as it used to be.

both sets of my grandparents were married over 50 years and i often think of them and wonder if we'll ever return to the simple values they had....