Even though U.S. adults plan on spending big this Valentine’s Day, the holiday is on the decline. A brief look at the marriage rate in the U.S. and attitudes toward the day of love and romance reveals some reasons why that might be.
While the holiday is widely celebrated, the amount of people who celebrate it has steadily decreased over the last few years. According to Statista, around 52% of U.S. adults plan on celebrating the holiday this year. In 2007, that number was 63% and while there’s some fluctuation year-to-year, there is a downward trend.
More Americans are single than before
The downward trend of celebrating Valentine’s Day can be understood in the greater context of relationship fluctuations in the U.S. The marital rate is at historic lows, according to The Hill. While cohabitation is increasing, younger generations of adults are more single than previous generations were, per Pew Research. Among single people, men are more likely to be looking for a partner than women — 61% and 38%, respectively.
Generally speaking, younger generations seem to be more apathetic about marriage. Deseret News reported that these younger generations see marriage as old-fashioned and do not think it’s as important as older generations think it is.
More than half of adults between the ages of 18 to 24 are single, per The Washington Post. While adults are waiting to get married until they are older, they are also remaining single more in addition to getting married less.
The marriage rate varies not just between generations, but also depends on economic status as well.
Richard Reeves, Brookings Institute fellow, said that rich people are married at a higher rate than poor people. Highly-educated women are getting married more frequently than high-school dropouts, which is a change from the past, when highly-educated women were the least likely group to be married.
Attitudes towards Valentine’s Day and romance
A new survey found that 39% of men think that the Super Bowl is more important than Valentine’s Day, while only 21% of women said that it was more important. The age demographic most likely to say that the Super Bowl is more important are those 35-49. This part of the survey was attempting to understand the Super Bowl as a cultural event. Respondents were asked about other holidays like Thanksgiving, New Year’s Eve, April Fools Day, Halloween and Mother’s Day.
This survey, conducted by Siena College Research Institute and St. Bonaventure University’s Jandoli School of Communication, polled 3,201 different people across the U.S. People who were surveyed identified themselves demographically as either a nonfan of sports (27%), a casual sports fan (26%), an involved sports fan (26%) or an avid fan (21%). Respondents were asked questions about the Super Bowl, football and other related issues.
Americans spend more on celebrating Valentine’s Day than they do on the Super Bowl. ABC affiliate WISN reported that U.S. adults were predicted to spend around $85 on the Super Bowl and closer to $200 on Valentine’s Day. While U.S. adults are planning to spend big on the holiday, it’s still being celebrated less than it has been in the past.
In addition to big spending, there’s some evidence that points toward high demand for romance among U.S. adults.
Sales of romance novels have skyrocketed, per the Deseret News, and the market for romance novels is only increasing. Even though U.S. adults might be engaging in relationships less and less, they are still interested in reading about them. In fact, romance novels are a billion-dollar industry and is a highly popular genre.
Romance on screen hasn’t died either. Many reality television shows like “The Bachelor” are about romance — even if experts have critically examined what the show does for marriage — and romantic comedies on the big screen have made something of a comeback. There seems to be a universal appreciation for romance even if real-life romance is on the decline.
Can marriage be revived?
The prognosis for marriage in America doesn’t look too promising.
Experts have said that the marriage rate contributes to deeper inequality. Like I said earlier, the marriage rate is higher among those who are wealthier than those who are poorer. If this trends continues, then the marriage rate will contribute to even deeper inequality as that chasm will contribute to widen. Middle class marriages have also significantly suffered in recent years, which contributes to the gap.
Reeves and Christopher Pulliam said in their report for Brookings Institute that to revive the marriage rate, it will take creating more economic stability among families in a lower-tax bracket and offering more educational opportunities like community college that can help create circumstances in which the marriage rate is more likely to increase.
Increased religiosity could also lead to an increased marriage rate. Brian J. Willoughby in Institute for Family Studies said that research shows that highly religious people are the most likely to be married, while nonreligious people have a much higher cohabitation rate and are more likely to choose to be single than religious people.
Even though marriage seems to be on the rocks now, it’s possible that could change.