It seems today we live in a nation that has killed the very definition of family. Due to financial and moral concerns, more people are shying away from the act of even becoming engaged. According to the Census Bureau, people nowadays are less likely to own a home than ever before. Plus, with many fears of having children, individuals are also very unlikely to have the desire to start families. With the growing fears of possessing a family/home life and having it end horribly, a question is raised: Is family dead?

A large concern for the public regarding family involves divorce rates. It’s a common myth that divorce rates are higher than ever before, with 50% of marriages ending in divorce. The truth is that divorce rates have been declining since the 1970s, when it hit about 40%. This number has continued to drop since that time. So the fear of starting a marriage only to have it end in divorce is not nearly as crippling as one may think. However, the myth, being widespread, has already taken effect in the minds of young adults. The thought of loving someone, only to lose them, or even losing your future children is devastating. That doesn’t even take into account the financial losses from divorce.

Another cause for concern is within a certain group of people: Millennials. Millennials are less interested than ever in starting a family, let alone owning a home. Part of the problem is the economy; the cost of home ownership has skyrocketed within the last few decades. With every year it becomes increasingly harder to to buy or even rent a home, thus, making it much harder to start a functioning family. Millennials also realize the costs of having children. Multiple studies show that millennials are more likely to have a pet than a child. Partially because children are incredibly expensive to care for. That, combined with the cost of living, is immensely expensive.

While small, the fear of overpopulation is alive and well in the hearts of today’s young adults. The world is rapidly reaching a population of 8 billion people, and it’s perfectly reasonable for the fear of adding people to harm the Earth to discourage the act of having children.

Is family dead? No. However, it is declining. With fears of overpopulation, debt, and divorce, family is dying in America.

Picture – commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Family_Portrait.jpg.