By Abdulwahab Hilal

KUWAIT: The idea of marriage became less important among young people every year. As they claim high cost of living is the reason that averts them from getting married. However, young people may spend as the cost of marriage on something else, that as not important as marriage. Young people tend to spend on luxuries, like cars, travelling, clothes...etc.

Over time, the concept of marriage has changed for both genders. In the past each gender has a specific role in a marriage. Men have to be providers and women have to be homemakers. These days they don’t seem to stick to their roles as they used to do in the past. Speaking to young people, Kuwait Times finds out that marriage was a controversial topic among youth.

Some men saw that there is a misunderstanding of the concept of providing, Engineer Ayman Ali, 62 years old, said “Men do not understand or correctly apply the concept of providing, and they are unwilling to bear all marriage expenses, as it places a financial burden on them, contradicting the idea of authority.”

He explained that the interests of young men have shifted towards financial ambitions at the expense of building a family due to social media, which affects their future decisions due to their high aspirations that deviate building a family. There is also a change in marriage criteria, Ali said that girls are influenced by society and seek to obtain the same things that other girls around them have, without considering the needs or capabilities of their possible partners.

One of the reasons, according to Ali, the decrease in marriage rates which impact of these changes results in a significant decline in marriage rates, as many are hesitant to take this step. “The increase in divorce rates, made young people to avoid marriages and due to the rise in a man’s expectations from his wife and his refusal to compromise, conflicts increase between spouses, leading to a higher divorce rate,” he noted.

Also, receiving substantial financial assistance or parents bearing all marriage expenses makes young men not feel the burden of marriage, as they haven’t struggled for it. For his part, Faisal, 29, pointed out that the cost of marriage has become higher and there is a change in the mindset of young people; where they want to stay young as they are growing up, adding “They want to live a carefree life and tend to postpone marriage until after thirty.” For Talal, 37, avoiding marriage was due to misuse of social media has led men to fulfill their needs online, causing them to distance themselves from the idea of marriage.

He indicated, “People have started using social media even for discussing personal secrets and household problems. Bachelors observe the problems of married couples, hearing about marriage issues despite not being married themselves. This has made the idea of marriage seem burdensome and disconnected from happiness.” “The influence of high divorce rates has led men to fear marriage due to the associated costs. With divorce rates being so high, they worry that divorce could hit their own homes, causing all the expenses of marriage to go to waste.”