Is marriage a dying institution?

Judging by the statistics, marriage has seen better days. Census figures indicate that for the first time ever, married couples make up fewer than half of American households, and a Pew survey late last year found that an increasing number of people believe marriage is "obsolete." Now, psychologist Neil Clark Warren, founder of online matchmaker eHarmony, says at The Huffington Post that hundreds of thousands of the more than 2 million U.S. couples who will get married this year should wait, or call the whole thing off, because they're poor matches and will just drag down the institution further. Is marriage really in such bad shape?

It's not the institution it used to be: The old idea that you have to get married to be happy is dead, says Briana Rognlin at Blisstree. "There are all kinds of relationships that can be fulfilling and great — even if they don't last a lifetime and aren’t officially registered under the state." Go ahead and walk down the aisle if you've found a truly compatible partner, but if you're just doing it because you think you're supposed to, maybe you should call it off.

"eHarmony founder's advice in love: Don't get married"

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A strong, healthy marriage is still the ideal: Enough with the doom and gloom, says Dawn Damalas Meehan at Babble. "More than 70 percent of adults under the age of 30 say they wish to get married someday. That doesn't sound like marriage is becoming obsolete to me." We're all happier when we have someone we can share our lives with — the trick is making sure we've found the right person for the long haul.

"Marriage isn't obsolete. Yet"

Marriage can make a comeback: It odd for the eHarmony guy to be declaring that "marriage is passé," considering his vocation, says Amarelle Wenkert at BlackBook. Maybe he was shaken by news of Arnold Schwarzenegger's divorce from Maria Shriver. But chin up. "Perhaps with gay endorsement, marriage will be made cool again, just like boat parties, dim sum, and Aol."

"eHarmony founder declares institution of marriage dead"