Many couples disagree if relationship is monogamous

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Though marriage rates outweigh divorce, one study questions the stability of the burgeoning new generations of spouses to be.

According to Oregon State University researchers, 40 percent of 434 heterosexual married and non-married young couples interviewed reported disagreeing on the status of their relationship. The dissidence resulted from an unclear consensus on the sexual exclusivity of their relationship.

Among those who did agree to stay exclusive, 30 percent broke their agreement.

The 2010 Census reported a 3.4 percent increase in divorce and a 10.2 percent increase in marriage rates since 2000.

“I feel that couples can make their own decisions as to whether or not they would like to have more than one partner,” said Mount Pleasant senior Lisa Yount. “Sometimes people just have other inner fantasies that they are trying to complete.”

Others felt this openness towards polygamy may be cultural.

“In most other cultures in which they stress family cohesion, non-monogamous sex is perceived as obviously wrong,” Mount Pleasant senior Jonathan Vajda said.

Vajda said Americans have a more laissez-faire attitude with relationships. He said the culture finds as long as everything is consensual, there’s nothing wrong with it.

“More specifics need to be discussed when more people are involved,” said Macomb Township alumnus Brandon Crane, “which can get rather complex. It prevents a lot of pain in the future and lets partners know expectations beforehand.”

One reflection of this is the rise of social media as a platform for dating. eHarmony.com showed membership of over 30 million since its inception in 2000, while match.com reports 6 million dates per year for its users, according to parent company InterActiveCorp statistics.

Twelve couples who met on match.com are engaged or married per day.