... let's talk about marriage again ...

*Below is only my personal opinion, however in the event I offended anyone, please accept my sincere apology*

http://sg.news.yahoo.com/060926/5/singapore232460.html

More marriages, more divorces last year

More couples tied the knot last year but there were also more divorces.

A total of 22,992 marriages were registered last year, about 3.6% more than in 2004.

Though the marriage trend is on the upward swing these past few years, the rates were lower than the annual average of 24,800 registered during the 1990s.

The median age for first marriages and remarriages also increased - by two to five years - over the past two decades.

This means delaying marriage is becoming increasingly common.

The median age for first marriages among men last year was 30.2 for non-Muslims and 27.7 for Muslims, said the Department of Statistics.

Among women, the median age was 27.2 for non-Muslims and 24.7 for Muslims.

Grooms with primary or no education were the oldest.

The median ages at first marriage for these men were 39 for non-Muslims and 32 years for Muslims.

Among non-Muslims, brides with primary or no education were the oldest, with the median age at first marriage at 28 years.

But among Muslim brides, university graduates were the oldest, with the median age at first marriage at 27 years.

Even as more people are getting married, divorces have also been on the rise.

Last year, 8.16 percent more marriages ended in divorce compared to the year before. The number of divorces rose to 6,909 in 2005 from 6,388 a year ago.

Younger couples, aged between 20 and 24, registered the highest divorce rate last year.

This is also the largest increase in the past decade.

The divorce rates among older couples showed smaller increases between 1995 and 2005.

~~~~~~~~~~ << >> ~~~~~~~~~~ << >> ~~~~~~~~~~ << >> ~~~~~~~~~~

It's saddening that young people (as reported) nowadays doesn't treat marriage seriously compare to olden days. If there's no love or feeling, they will just break this bond. Why our parents, grandparents' time could do it to make it last a lifetime but not now? We didn't heard much divorce cases decades ago but now it seems to become a trend.

Is it because women are more independent? They are more educated, at the same time working and earning their own salaries and thus need no financial backing from husband?

Or is it love has become so fragile that any human could be replaced anytime with a new promise? If that's the case, why get married in the first place and be hurt later? Shouldn't both parties try their best to make it worked initially to the end?