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Commercials are great. I see tons of them daily, and none are funnier than the auto insurance commercials I love. But for some reason, a recent State Farm commercial has caught my attention.

You may have seen it: it starts with a single man who claims he will never get married, has kids, and never move to the suburbs. However, by the end of the commercial, he has done them all. And even though I have seen similar commercials like this, the “American Dream” scenario continues to concern me.

Let me be clear: I have no qualms with people who want to get married, have children, and move to the suburbs. If that’s the life you want to lead, then that is an extraordinary life. Who am I to discourage a person’s path in life? But unfortunately, this is precisely what the commercial does. It demoralizes those who do not want to go down that road. Through a montage of contradictory statements, we believe everyone will end up at the same destination, whether we want to or not. It mocks young adults by saying that their claim to “the single life” will ultimately change and that what they want when they are young will never hold up. If people can claim a right to a career when they are young, they should have the same right to do so in their romantic lives. Single people can be successful and, most importantly, happy, even if they do not have a spouse or a child. Support systems come in many shapes and sizes. Even though single people may lead different lives, they can still be fulfilling.

Even though most of us statistically will get married and have children, many people choose not to marry. According to a 2013 Census report, about 44 percent of people aged 18 or older were unmarried (United States Census Bureau, 2013). That is a LOT of people. Even more interesting is that 68 percent of people ages 18 to 34 were unmarried (United States Census Bureau, 2013). That is essentially the young adult population. And while some of those people will marry later in life, we must still respect those who will continue to stay unmarried for whatever reason.  

So the next time you hear someone at a party says, “Man, I’m never getting married,” instead of thinking they will eventually change their mind, take a minute to acknowledge their sentiments. Chances are, they are pretty serious.   

References

United States Census Bureau (2013). Unmarried and single Americans week. Retrieved from: http://www.census.gov/content/dam/Census/newsroom/facts-for-features/2014/cb14-ff21_unmarried_graphic.pdf