Once upon a dreary day, I decided to have a latte in my favorite cafe. While I was enjoying my sin of a drink (yes, I know that lattes are fattening), a group of girls went in. They sat at the table in front of mine. Looking at them, I gauged their ages to be somewhere in their early twenties.

Initially, I was irked because they were disturbing the peace I was trying to establish with my latte. They were giggling and talking as if they owned the place. But being the ever inquisitive me, I tried to eavesdrop, hoping to hear about the latest gossip in town.

One said, “You’re getting married? But your only 22! You’re still too young,” to which the other girls agreed. I wanted to stand up and say, “Hmm, too young? I got married at 22. What are you talking about?”

Since my innermost peace was already disturbed, I decided to head home, put my laptop on and typed “average age to get married” in the search box. Lo and behold! Surveys show that the current age to tie the knot is 27 for women and 29 for men. I was mortified. Yeah, admittedly, the girls in the cafe were right – 22 is still considered young to marry.

Factors that Affect the Average Age to Get Married

So I tried to think things over. I did my research. What makes the numbers go higher? Here are some of the assumptions that I came up with based on my research:

Singles enjoy being single

It seems like girls and boys nowadays enjoy the single life more than we did thirty years ago. They like to hang out with friends more than they do with their significant others. And I guess, technology also plays a huge part as well. They are too engrossed with the latest gadgets and what-have-you’s that they seem to lose track of what’s going on with their love life. Or if they do go out on dates, they try not to commit themselves to serious relationships.

Too much competition

Yes, the world is getting too industrialized too fast that young men and women strive their best to outdo each other for the benefits that it has to offer. They are more goal-oriented. They know what they want and they do their darnedest best to achieve it. They run for scholarships or do part-time work to fund a college degree. As if a collegiate diploma is not yet enough, they proceed to graduate school to get master or doctorate degrees. Whew!

Too many wants

And when they do get employed, singles try to work their asses off to land high-ranking positions. Why? Because that would mean huge, fat salaries! That’s why they want it. That would give them what they want – luxury cars, funded vacations, beautiful homes and money on their banks. Very practical guys and gals, indeed.

Effect of mass media

Yes, media bows it head to people who make it to the top. They feature them in magazines for the rich and famous and show their latest acquisitions that amount to mind-boggling amounts. I like it that the youth look up to these icons and wish that one day, they could be as rich and successful as they are.

Constant search for Mister or Miss Right

As I said earlier, these young people go out on dates. But that’s not because they want to get romantic and all that, but because they are trying to find out if their date might be the Mister or Miss Right that they have been searching for the longest time. It seems like they don’t want to make mistakes. Who can blame them, anyways, when divorce and legal separations threaten the toughest of marriages? Sensible, sensible people.

Marriage is more than just sex and romance

I actually admire the young people who can put a rein on their lustful desires. Well, some of them might have had sex in their teenage lives, but good sex or even having a baby are not enough reasons for them to tie the knot. They seem to think of marriage as more than just having someone to make love with. They see it as a long standing commitment that needs to be pondered over and over, lest they just end up in divorce.

Yes, the average age to get married is getting higher. And with all my assumptions, I guess it’s all for the better.