The Deterioration of the American Family Today many people believe that the family is to blame for society’s problems. Teen pregnancy, suicide, and many more of society’s problems are often said to be a result of the deterioration of the American family. America’s families were not always like this. Over the past ninety years, primarily after World War I, America has seen extreme change in the family structure. From colonial times and the beginning of the American family a vast amount of deterioration has occurred in the structure of the family; this is due to the frequency of divorce, the age of pregnancy, the gradual shift away from nuclear families, social media, and individualism. Two of the main reasons for the deterioration of the American
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People have broken families with one parent and also heterogeneous families. The standard nuclear family living style has decreased greatly as seen in the graph. Families who are married without children have seen a slight decrease but not as vast as the nuclear. The other family types addressed in the graph are all rising. The gradual increase compared to the steep decrease shows where they typical “family” is headed. The graph also notes a steep incline of singles. “In 1900, only five percent of households featured a single person; today, a stunning twenty-seven percent of American households consist of an isolated individual,” (The damaging rise). The rise of singles makes it harder for families to …show more content…
An antiauthority postmodern philosophy permeated society with a resulting relativistic attitude reflected in “what’s in it for me.” Alongside this was a quest for “feeling good” and an aversion to pain, discomfort, and frustration,” (source 2). Individualism is another reason for the deterioration of the American family. Today people are more focused on what they can gain rather than gaining for others. Many women are unwilling to marry and/or have children because they want to capitalize on their economic status. Parents have to compete with singles economically while also providing for extra bodies at home; this fact alone makes many singles cringe. Individualism takes away from the family and is slowly increasing the rate of
People have broken families with one parent and also heterogeneous families. The standard nuclear family living style has decreased greatly as seen in the graph. Families who are married without children have seen a slight decrease but not as vast as the nuclear. The other family types addressed in the graph are all rising. The gradual increase compared to the steep decrease shows where they typical “family” is headed. The graph also notes a steep incline of singles. “In 1900, only five percent of households featured a single person; today, a stunning twenty-seven percent of American households consist of an isolated individual,” (The damaging rise). The rise of singles makes it harder for families to …show more content…
An antiauthority postmodern philosophy permeated society with a resulting relativistic attitude reflected in “what’s in it for me.” Alongside this was a quest for “feeling good” and an aversion to pain, discomfort, and frustration,” (source 2). Individualism is another reason for the deterioration of the American family. Today people are more focused on what they can gain rather than gaining for others. Many women are unwilling to marry and/or have children because they want to capitalize on their economic status. Parents have to compete with singles economically while also providing for extra bodies at home; this fact alone makes many singles cringe. Individualism takes away from the family and is slowly increasing the rate of