FROM CNN's Jack Cafferty:
Fewer Americans are getting married than ever before.
A new pew survey shows barely half of adults in this country - 51% - are married.
That's a 5% drop from just a year before and down from a whopping 72% in 1960.
The marriage rate has gone down among all age groups in the U.S. - but most dramatically among young adults:
Only 20% of those younger than 30 are now married, compared with nearly 60% back in 1960.
The survey also shows Americans are getting married at older ages than ever before. For women, the average age of a first marriage is 26.5 years; for men it's 28.7 years.
Researchers say it's unclear if people are simply delaying marriage - or abandoning it. They point to similar trends of putting off marriage in other developed countries, especially in Europe.
And - experts say the sharp drop in marriages from 2009-2010 "may or may not be related to the sour economy." They point out that marriage has actually been on the decline for the last 50 years.
Also, this drop in marriages reflects an increase in other kinds of living arrangements - including couples living together without getting married and single parenting.
Some suggest there's been a huge cultural shift when it comes to getting married. For example, around 40% of people say marriage is becoming "obsolete."
And as one sociologist tells the Washington Post, "In the 1950s, if you weren't married, people thought you were mentally ill. Marriage was mandatory. Now it's culturally optional."
Here’s my question to you: Do you think marriage is becoming obsolete?
Interested to know which ones made it on air?
Kim in Kansas:
With a divorce rate well above 50%, draconian child support laws, dropping incomes and a vaporized middle class, no wonder marriage only works when doctors, lawyers, and hedge fund managers marry each other. I highly recommend that no one gets married until both partners have earned their first one million dollars. That way they'll have some left for the divorce lawyer.
Carol:
Weddings have become the focus. It's not about the marriage; it's about the party, dresses, gifts... then whatever. Babies are accessories after the fact.
John:
Women today are more empowered than women of 20 years ago. Today they have better status, purchasing power and are the highest percentage of new home owners. Marriage isn't what it used to be; now we have same-sex marriage, domestic partnerships and the single life looking more appealing than ever. Girls are now taught younger and younger that it's acceptable to be freer. The bonds of matrimony aren't as ideological anymore.
J.K. in Minnesota:
Speaking as one who has never married, I pretty much "married my career" after I graduated from college – there wasn't room for a social life while I was trying to carve out a career as a woman in the business world. When I finally did have room for a spouse, I realized that I've become set in my ways and enjoy my freedom too much to consider marriage; plus I now would need to seriously consider a pre-nuptial agreement to protect my assets.
Tom in Florida:
After 22 years of marriage, once was enough for me. I just could not handle all her problems. I'm going on 60 and the last 10 years have been the happiest of my life. Why would I want to get married again and screw that up?