Marriage Trends in Indonesia are Declining, Here’s What IPB University’s Family Expert Says
Recently, marriage trends in Indonesia have been highlighted. One of the latest is about the decline in the number of marriages in Indonesia. IPB University Family Expert, Prof Euis Sunarti, also responded to this issue.
According to Prof Euis, the decline in marriage rates must actually be seen from the age of marriage which has increased recently. That is, the average age of men and women who get married is higher than in previous years so that there is a delay that results in a downward trend in marriage rates.
“The thing that needs to be underlined in the phenomenon of the recent decline in marriage rates is the shift in views regarding marriage readiness. Previously, a certain age was considered ready for marriage, but in recent years it is still considered not ready for marriage,” said Prof Euis.
The IPB University Professor from the Department of Family and Consumer Sciences, Faculty of Human Ecology (Fema) added that this condition can occur due to several factors that influence an individual’s decision to get married. Starting from economic factors, intellectual, emotional, moral to physical readiness.
Furthermore, Prof Euis also said that the phenomenon of declining marriage rates needs to be studied further in order to obtain representative data in the field. Is this marriage something that is increasingly feared because it is realised that it does not have sufficient readiness or indeed because skills are increasingly difficult to obtain in order to get a desired condition in marriage.
“Indeed, the hope is that with the awareness of marriage readiness that is increasingly highlighted, marked by an increasing age of marriage, it can make the next generation better. However, this does not mean that getting married at a younger age is not good. As long as it is with commitment, confidence and readiness, it will certainly produce an equally good next generation,” she said.
Although the phenomenon of delaying marriage is hypothesised to have the potential to create a better generation, Prof Euis cautioned that the trend could also turn out to be a negative for population growth.
“We have to see what the limit is. Do not let it be like in several large countries that currently have problems with fertility rates, causing population imbalances that can lead to a situation of a shortage of the next generation,” she concluded. (Fajar/Rz) (IAAS/RUM)
