Are Millennials Too Picky About Marriage?

By Rod Anderson, CP Cartoonist Tuesday, August 11, 2015

For many young adults a few generations ago, the path to marriage was as straight as Cupid's arrow: Guy meets girl, guy and girl date exclusively, guy and girl get married. However, many of today's young adults are taking a much more roundabout path down the aisle — if they even make the trip at all — and there's something wrong with that, says the new straight-talking guide on relationships, The Dating Manifesto.

In her debut title released in August, Lisa Anderson, director of young adults for Focus on the Family and host of the national radio program "The Boundless Show," debunks popular notions like "not settling" and waiting for "The One," as well as the fantasies portrayed in Hollywood — all of which she says have blurred the path to marriage for many young adults. She teaches singles how to circumvent these stumbling blocks and pursue marriage with purpose.

"A few generations ago, marriage was so normative," Anderson told The Christian Post. In fact, in 1960, 72 percent of all adults ages18 and older were married, according to a Pew Research study. By 2010, however, that figure had dropped to 51 percent.

So why are fewer young adults tying the knot? According to Anderson, Hollywood's got a lot to do with it. She believes that the industry's narrow-minded projections of men and women have negatively influenced the thinking and dating habits of young singles.