Marriage, which was thought out of fashion, returns in force within generation Z. According to a study relayed by the Time and the magazine Fortunemore than 40 % of young people of this generation are already in a serious relationship and 27 % say they actively seek “the right person”. A contrast striking with their elders, the millennials, more marked by the era of divorces and ephemeral unions.
Marriage, reinvented by generation Z
To understand this turnaround, it is enough to compare behavior: only 19 % of Millennials declared that he had never had a relationship without tomorrow, against 62 % today in the Gen Z. The Pandemic of Covid-19 and the isolation which it generated would have strengthened this need for anchoring, stability and lasting link.
For clinical psychologist Amélie Boukhobza, this phenomenon reflects a generational reaction: “It is true, marriage resumed speed when we thought it was punching. Previous generations had moved away from it, for the benefit of autonomy, freedom, new models of couple perhaps less institutional. And now generation Z seems to want to rehabilitate it. ”
So why this return?
According to her, marriage becomes a way of bringing bearings in an uncertain world: “Each generation reacts to the previous one. When you have grown up in a world of free unions, separations and blended families, marriage can appear again as a benchmark. A way of saying: “We want a clear setting ‘“.
But it is not a question of repeating the patterns of past generations: “It is not the same marriage as that of grandparents. Less religious, less restrictive, and above all more chosen. It is an affirmation of commitment, not a social obligation“.
A need for emotional security
In a context marked by social networks, micro-cheating and all emerging forms of manipulation, formalizing a relationship can reassure this generation, which dreams of romanticism and pure love. “”Does it still represent security? Yes, in a way. In a world marked by precariousness and anxiety, to formalize a relationship, to pose a framework is reassuring. But it is no longer just material or social: it is above all an emotional security“.
Generation Z therefore sees marriage as a balance between passion and pragmatism: “For Gen Z, marriage is therefore both symbolic and practical. Symbolic, because it still ritualizes love. Practical, because it still offers legal and administrative advantages. The two mix“.
As Amélie Boukhobza sums it up: “Marriage returns, yes. But he changes my face I would say“.