Actors Millie Bobby Brown, 20, and Jake Bongiovi, 22, tied the knot late last month, riling up left-wing keyboard warriors who argued that the couple was too young to get married. This anger is misplaced, as society would benefit from many more people choosing to wed in their early to mid-20s.
The median age of marriage has risen considerably over the past half-century, with women now more likely to get married in their late 20s and men in their early 30s. This is an unfortunate trend for numerous reasons, from incentivizing bad decisions to creating a social taboo around marrying at a relatively young age.
The dismal dating scene on college campuses, where hookup culture is dominant and pornography usage is soaring to all-time highs, is just one consequence of the delayed marriage trend. When there is no rush to enter a serious relationship, primitive sexual urges are satisfied without any real emotional connection.
Despite claims from the Left that these sexual activities can be meaningless, promiscuity has long-term consequences on future relationships, and studies show that premarital sex is one of the strongest determining factors of an unsuccessful marriage. This cuts across the gender divide, too. Even men, who are generally more inclined toward casual sex, are harmed by premarital indiscretions.
Delaying marriage naturally leads to a rise in cohabitation, which is also associated with marital instability. Young couples are moving in together at the same age as when older generations would wed, suggesting that waiting to get married has little to do with feelings and more to do with avoiding social stigma.
One of the most obvious benefits of marrying young is that building a life together is a lot easier than attempting to mend two already-established lives. Younger couples will have the ability to grow up with each other and create a shared vision of their future. A couple’s lives are more malleable and accepting of change early in their career than when both people have already established life trajectories and friend groups. The transition between college and professional life is extraordinarily difficult, so having built-in emotional support and some degree of stability is ideal.
The financial advantages of marriage are also astounding. While married couples are already more likely to live in a way conducive to higher incomes, their combined financial resources can go a lot further than that of two single people. The tax breaks and insurance benefits only add to that value, allowing for greater financial stability when the married couple starts having children.
Finally, perhaps most importantly, walking down the aisle at a young age can lead to greater emotional fulfillment. Both husbands and wives report greater marital and sexual satisfaction if they were married in their early 20s.
The attacks on marrying young are indicative of a broader left-wing assault on marriage and the nuclear family itself. Great Society liberals whose paternalistic view of the state incentivized birth out of wedlock are partially to blame, but the broader societal shift against marriage comes from culture rather than just politics.
When paired with other issues such as birth rates collapsing, the definition of marriage shifting, and the concept of biological sex itself being undermined, getting married young is the best choice you can make for stability and happiness. If you wait too long, finding a spouse will be like trying to catch the last chopper out of Vietnam.
Waiting is pointless. Get married as soon as you can. And have babies, too — lots of them.