Why People Want To Get Married?

It is a jungle out there and we find ourselves fearful and vulnerable of various predators. Perhaps that is why we seek safety in numbers and become scared when left alone without any support.
Marriage is an institution that was invented by our ancestors long ago to fulfil this natural urge to bond with an individual of the opposite sex. That is why it has endured for thousands of years and is still growing strong. A major reason for its success is that marriage is a profound relationship with many facets – emotional, sexual, social, legal and parental. No other relationship can match it in its all-encompassing nature.
True, there are many benefits of not marrying. You do not have to take responsibility for any individual and can lead a care-free existence. This free-wheeling lifestyle has a charm of its own since you are your own boss unfettered by any relationship. You can spend all your money on your own needs and do not have to share it with anyone. You can have sex with as many partners as you like without feeling guilty about it. You do not have to worry about children all the time.
However, after some years, especially as middle age starts to creep in, you get tired of a bachelor lifestyle and start looking for an anchor in your lonely life. That is when the urge to settle down at some place and have a family takes root. There are many other causes too that act as a driving force for people to take the decision to get married.

Life-long Commitment
Marriage is a bond that is accepted and recognised by the society and the law of the land. It puts many obligations on you. It is a relationship that demands a life-long commitment and is not to be taken lightly. This commitment provides stability and security to a married family, compared to friendships or live-in relationships. It is the duty of each partner to be fully devoted to marriage as well as the children and do the best to discharge marital obligations.

Emotional Support and Intimacy
Marriage is not a mere physical union of two people. It is much more than that. The partners support and nurture each other emotionally and ensure each other’s personal growth. They share a very intimate relationship and act as each other’s confidante. This emotional nurturing and intimacy is extremely crucial for the psychological health of an individual. No wonder, a survey has found that people who are married tend to live longer than those who choose to remain single throughout their lives.

Financial Security
When you get married, your finances merge. Regardless of what you were doing with your income when you were a bachelor, after marriage both of you are supposed to pool your income and use it to buy family assets and maintain a decent living standard.
Marriage gives tremendous financial security to spouses compared to people living alone. Women particularly benefit from their husband’s earning power. Even if things head for divorce, marital assets are equally divided among the partners, thus benefiting mothers with children. In two-income families, partners manage to meet all their expenses comfortably and save a decent amount.

Social and Parental Pressure
Many people want to get married to conform to social norms and expectations. Marriage is an institution that is crucial to propagation of human race and ensuring social stability. This is the only arrangement that can provide a safe and secure home where children can grow up into psychologically healthy adults.
That is why people who do not want to get married are considered somewhat eccentric, radical or abnormal by others. In some societies, there is a strong parental pressure on individuals to get married and confirm to the expectations of their mom and dad.

Religious Beliefs
Some people are quite religious and take the sacred books very seriously. They want to lead a life of strict morality. Such individuals consider it a sin to have sex without marrying and think getting married is a sacred duty ordained by their god.

Procreation
No marriage becomes a family until the partners have children. Indeed, the purpose of many people to get married is to have children. They want to enjoy fatherhood or motherhood and thus make their lives a well-rounded and complete experience. Children also give tremendous emotional support to parents and help fulfil the empty void that many people feel in their lives in their middle or old age.