Note that this article has been updated to also include some of the private discussions with thought leaders in the past. You can read my final overview of my research into the Millennial generation along with what I predicted and what happened as they matured at this link. While I still speak about Echo Boomers and iGenZ privately, I seldom add new articles to this specific blogspot site. If you're reaching out about a speaking engagement, you can contact me at the research firm SqlinSix.
Working at a financial institution, I would never initiate this question as it's impertinent to money. However, one study [Update: dead link removed] asked questions to Echo Boomers about marriage. Since I've written about low marriage rates and how this will affect the future economy (change the dynamics a bit, but nothing terrible), as a counter point to my prediction that marriage rates will remain low for Echo Boomers, this study presents a different perspective. Some excellent gems:
The five major groups and some demographic details about each group:
23% of Echo Boomers think that marriage is a partnership. This group tended to be educated and posses a high-income.
22% of Echo Boomers think that they are not ready for marriage. 70% of these Echo Boomers were males.
22% of Echo Boomers think that marriage is central to their life's plans. This group was made up of mostly highly-educated, white Echo Boomers.
19% of Echo Boomers think that marriage is a love story. Two-thirds of this group was made up female Echo Boomers.
14% of Echo Boomers think that they never want to partake in marriage. This group was made up of mostly low income Echo Boomers.
Other interesting information from the study:
Female Echo Boomers didn't mind discussing marriage, while male Echo Boomers tended to be content with being "left out."
Some male Echo Boomers considered marriage an "outdated" concept.
82% of Echo Boomers expect to be married for life.
75% of Echo Boomers stated that they would rather be alone for the rest of their life than marry the wrong person.
This study contradicts my prediction that marriage rates will be historically low for Echo Boomers by pointing out that only 14% of Echo Boomers never want to marry. The rest of the Echo Boomers it seems just aren't ready for it, or haven't found their partner/lover/central person. So anyone in the marriage/divorce industry, don't panic yet as it's possible that this study ends up being correct and not my prediction!
Reminder
As a general reminder, I often consider other views that disagree or contradict my own. In my view, I cannot form a view if I don't consider what other people, research or studies communicate about a topic.
As an example of this that I've shared with thought leaders, in my view this other study contradicts itself because it notes this response from Echo Boomers:
75% of Echo Boomers stated that they would rather be alone for the rest of their life than marry the wrong person.
Yet when speaking with older generations who married, close to half think that they married the wrong person at any given point. The response to this question can also change relative to the time - ask a couple independently if they married the person right after an amazing vacaction or right after a major financial dispute. The answer may change.
What I do see with this study is that Echo Boomers have many false beliefs about marriage and these false beliefs will prevent a larger portion than people expect from getting married. You can read related posts for my predictions on the Millennial marriage rate.
