--- title: Gen Z shouldn’t dismiss marriage so lightly description: Married women with children are happier than their single and childless counterparts according to data from the 2022 General Social Survey. image: https://www.fatherhood.org/hubfs/Images/Blog/NFI_Blog_GenZ-marriage.jpg --- [Skip to main content](https://www.fatherhood.org/championing-fatherhood/gen-z-shouldnt-dismiss-marriage-so-lightly#main) - [![NFI mark](https://www.fatherhood.org/hubfs/NFI-Assets/images/NFI%20mark.svg)FATHERHOOD.ORG](https://www.fatherhood.org/) - [STORE.FATHERHOOD.ORG](https://store.fatherhood.org/) [![NFI_logo_blue_left (1) 1](https://www.fatherhood.org/hs-fs/hubfs/NFI-Assets/images/NFI_logo_blue_left%20(1)%201.png?width=149&height=82&name=NFI_logo_blue_left%20(1)%201.png) ![NFI_logo_blue_left (1) 1](https://www.fatherhood.org/hs-fs/hubfs/NFI-Assets/images/NFI_logo_blue_left%20(1)%201.png?width=119&height=65&name=NFI_logo_blue_left%20(1)%201.png) ![NFI_logo_blue_left (1) 1](https://www.fatherhood.org/hs-fs/hubfs/NFI-Assets/images/NFI_logo_blue_left%20(1)%201.png?width=119&height=66&name=NFI_logo_blue_left%20(1)%201.png) ![NFI_logo_blue_left (1) 1](https://www.fatherhood.org/hs-fs/hubfs/NFI-Assets/images/NFI_logo_blue_left%20(1)%201.png?width=89&height=49&name=NFI_logo_blue_left%20(1)%201.png) ](https://www.fatherhood.org) - [How To Build Strong Families](https://www.fatherhood.org/build-strong-families) - [Why Father Inclusion Matters](https://www.fatherhood.org/why-father-inclusion-matters) - Show submenu for Get Involved Get Involved - [Fatherhood Programs](https://www.fatherhood.org/solutions/programs-and-resources) - [Train Your Staff](https://www.fatherhood.org/solutions/staff-training) - [State, County, and City Agency Services](https://www.fatherhood.org/solutions/collaborative-services) Open main navigation Close main navigation - Show submenu for Get Informed Get Informed - [How To Build Strong Families](https://www.fatherhood.org/build-strong-families) - [Why Father Inclusion Matters](https://www.fatherhood.org/why-father-inclusion-matters) - [Father Stats & Infographics](https://www.fatherhood.org/father-absence-statistic) - Show submenu for Get Involved Get Involved - [Fatherhood Programs](https://www.fatherhood.org/solutions/programs-and-resources) - [Train Your Staff](https://www.fatherhood.org/solutions/staff-training) - [State, County, and City Agency Services](https://www.fatherhood.org/solutions/collaborative-services) - Show submenu for Get Started Get Started - [Find Your Stage of Father Inclusion](https://www.fatherhood.org/father-inclusion) - [How Father Friendly Is Your Organization?](https://www.fatherhood.org/father-friendly) - [Get In Touch](https://www.fatherhood.org/get-started) [Store](https://store.fatherhood.org/?hsLang=en) [Get In Touch](https://www.fatherhood.org/get-started) [Store](https://store.fatherhood.org/?hsLang=en) Show submenu for Get Started Get Started - [Fatherhood Data & Statistics](https://www.fatherhood.org/father-absence-statistic) - [How Father Friendly is Your Organization?](https://www.fatherhood.org/father-friendly) - [Other Free Resources](https://www.fatherhood.org/nfi-free-resources) - [Talk With us to Get Started](https://www.fatherhood.org/get-started) National Fatherhood Initiative Blog / [Latest Articles](https://www.fatherhood.org/championing-fatherhood) [benefits of good marriage](https://www.fatherhood.org/championing-fatherhood/topic/benefits-of-good-marriage) # Gen Z shouldn’t dismiss marriage so lightly 3 min read *![NFI_Blog_GenZ-marriage](https://www.fatherhood.org/hs-fs/hubfs/Images/Blog/NFI_Blog_GenZ-marriage.jpg?width=500&height=333&name=NFI_Blog_GenZ-marriage.jpg)* *This article is written by [W. Bradford Wilcox](https://sociology.as.virginia.edu/people/w-bradford-wilcox) for [UnHerd](https://unherd.com/thepost/gen-z-shouldnt-dismiss-marriage-so-lightly/)**. It is republished here with permission from the **author.* A viral TikTok [video](https://www.tiktok.com/@nunca3627x/video/7233138818809924870) doesn’t pull any punches in depicting the so-called negatives of marriage and motherhood for young women. The video, that has been racking up millions of views, shows a Generation Z woman seeming to accept a marriage proposal before switching to a series of shorts showing the same woman toiling away in domestic drudgery — washing dishes, caring for a newborn baby, and cleaning the house. The clip ends with the woman rejecting the proposal, daunted by the future life of domestic servitude that just flashed before her eyes. This is simply one addition to a long line of recent memes that deride marriage and motherhood, a trend that plays into a [popular narrative](https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2022/12/motherhood-marriage-pandemic-covid-children/672563/). But is all this negative coverage of marriage and motherhood — primarily emanating from academics, [journalists](https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-08-31/women-not-having-kids-get-richer-than-men?cmpid=socialflow-twitter-businessweek&sref=0lt16h2M), and online influencers — an accurate reflection of reality? The answer is no. The truths about marriage and motherhood couldn’t be clearer, or more counter-cultural: married women with children are actually *happier *than their single and childless counterparts, despite the prevailing narrative to the contrary. Drawing on data from America’s premier social barometer, the 2022 [General Social Survey](https://gss.norc.org/), 40% of married women between the ages of 18 and 55 with children report being “very happy” with their lives, compared to 22% of unmarried women with no children and 17% of single mothers. ![womens-happiness-ages-18-55-General-Social-Survey](https://www.fatherhood.org/hs-fs/hubfs/Images/Blog/womens-happiness-ages-18-55-General-Social-Survey.png?width=404&height=356&name=womens-happiness-ages-18-55-General-Social-Survey.png) Women’s happiness, ages 18-55. Credit: General Social Survey What’s more, women with children are better off financially than their childless peers. According to data from the US Census’s American Community Survey, married mothers (18-55) have an average [household income](https://www.newsweek.com/why-conservative-women-report-being-happiest-how-you-can-too-opinion-1748894) of $133,000, compared to $79,000 for their childless, single peers. We also have [new research](https://unherd.com/thepost/the-best-predictor-of-happiness-in-america-marriage/), which finds that marriage is “the most important differentiator” of who is happy in America. Falling marriage rates, meanwhile, are a chief reason why happiness has declined nationally, according to this study.  All of this runs counter to the cultural messaging that is decidedly anti-nuptial and anti-natalist. But the data tells us that married people are happier and more prosperous than their unmarried counterparts. That’s because marriage and family life provide meaning and direction for both men and women, not to mention a sense of solidarity.  Young people deserve to know the truth. A future that includes marriage and children is, on balance, a happier one. It turns out that building a life around your family is linked to dramatically higher rates of happiness for men *and* women. The idea that the best pathway to happiness in life is to avoid exchanging vows or the baby carriage is a myth persistently championed by many cultural voices — including this latest viral TikTok influencer — but one unfounded in the data. --- Author | [*![brad-wilcox](https://www.fatherhood.org/hs-fs/hubfs/Images/Blog/brad-wilcox.png?width=100&height=100&name=brad-wilcox.png)*](https://www.spokesman.com/staff/treva-lind/) [W. Bradford Wilcox](https://sociology.as.virginia.edu/people/w-bradford-wilcox) is Director of the [National Marriage Project](https://nationalmarriageproject.org) at the University of Virginia, Professor of Sociology at the University of Virginia, Senior Fellow at the [Institute for Family Studies](https://ifstudies.org/blog/), and a Nonresident Senior Fellow at the American Enterprise Institute. | | --- |   [![Learn more about the Father Engagement Academy by National Fatherhood Initiative](https://no-cache.hubspot.com/cta/default/135704/c81321f1-c981-43b7-aa34-e7e2228402a8.png)](https://cta-redirect.hubspot.com/cta/redirect/135704/c81321f1-c981-43b7-aa34-e7e2228402a8) Date Published: 08/23/2023 Last Updated: 08/24/2023 ## Learn How to Build a Fatherhood Program That Works Download this free guide for a proven 7-step roadmap—from making the case and securing funding for your program, to launching and measuring real results! 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