Introduction
A social problem can be termed as a condition that is viewed as undesirable to a majority of individuals within a given society. The problem is considered to pose consequences that damage the general wellbeing of the community. Social illnesses extend beyond the confines of the individual’s social matters by creating contradicting opinions on what a given society upholds to be morally and culturally acceptable. The US faces several common illnesses that range from one area to the other. Most scholars have pointed out the weakening of marriage as the leading social problem that is affecting the US. More than one per every three children born in the US belongs to a mother who has never been married. Approximately 45 percent of the marriages in the US end up in divorce.
Additionally, only an estimated 60 percent of children in the US are living with their biological or adopted married parents. The decline of marriage has been rated as the single most serious social problem in the US as it opens different avenues for other associated vices. Drug abusers, those who commit suicide, the victims of crime, and emotional distress have a clear link with broken family relationships (Ayelet et al. 276). This paper looks at declining marriage as a social problem in the US. The paper further highlights the problem from various viewpoints.
Theory selection
To discuss the social illness of declining marriages in the US, the incorporated is the social constructionist perspective. This theory views the extent to which a social illness is perceived as problematic and the meaning attached to the social problem as having a direct relationship with human interactions. The origins of the constructionism can be traced back to the attempts to establish the nature of reality. The constructionism approach views truth and knowledge as created elements but not discovered within the mind. Social problems do not become evident immediately, as they require interpretation and presentation. Depending on the public outrage attributed to given social problems, contributions are made in constructing their significance or insignificance within society. However, some of the problems are private, and they lack the dimension of public policy (Kiraly 45).
Objective reality lacks the premise of accepted knowledge. Human relationships dictate how people perceive reality due to the shared meanings that society upholds. Under the constructionist approach, shared meanings are due to vibrant and cooperative relationships that are affiliated or not to objectively measurable conditions around the world. A given society understands the world in a particular way. The preference of reality is not dependent upon the empirical validity, but it is subject to influence by varying cultural trends and social forces. Many social problems that accrue from different societies emanate from the concepts of social constructionism.
Opinion makers compete among themselves while arguing for the social acceptability of their particular construction of reality (Kiraly 62). Opinion makers include activists, experts, promoters, celebrities, and spokespersons that propagate individual claims concerning social occurrences. Such individuals not only draw attention to specific social conditions, but they also change the society’s thinking about a given social problem. Claims contain statements that seek to persuade people to adopt given opinions on social situations thereby becoming the primary elements in the construction of social issues.
Methods
This paper has used the claims retrieved from various newspaper articles within the United States. Mostly, opinion-makers attract high public interest thereby influencing the people’s viewpoints concerning the marriage issue. Claims are made on various platforms including social media and public gatherings like churches among others. The political and the judicial arena have also made tremendous contributions in propagating varying opinions concerning the social issue (Onuf 105).
Viewpoints on the declining marriage social problem
Economic Viewpoint
Most economists give the claim of income equalities between couples as the possible result of marriages. According to this claim by Cowen, an investor, who is a banker, is likely to marry another investment banker (par. 8). A teacher in most instances will end up marrying a similar match in the area of the profession rather than a secretary. Therefore, the marriages in the current times are based on power that is manifested through education and money (Cowen par. 12). The claim propagates that money and talent have become central in the choice of marriage partners. Therefore, couples can advance the interests of their children achieving long-term benefits for society through innovation and business creation.
Furthermore, this claim underscores the declining marriages in the US because not all individuals are lucky to get a marriage partner from their professional areas. Since the claim is a constructed social reality, potential marriage partners opt to remain single rather than marrying a person who demonstrates a discrepancy in the field of profession and talent. Therefore, the fear of power imbalances has hindered marriage opportunities, hence the current situation (Cowen par. 3).
The media viewpoint
The majority of the media platforms claim to reunite people and thus reconnect old friends and classmates. An example of such a platform is Facebook, which has attracted a huge number of users. Other claims view online social platforms as the best sites to undertake business and exchange ideas and thoughts concerning given issues. In the social change groups, the small voices emanating from individual claim-makers finally become more powerful and magnified, thus influencing the society’s behavior (Kiraly 32).
Despite the claims made in the US concerning the significance of Facebook in reconnecting and strengthening relationships, it has regrettable consequences on marriages. According to an article by Martosko, one in every five reported divorce cases involves Facebook as the networking platform (par. 7). Eighty (80) percent of the lawyers who have been involved in divorce cases witness that most cases have a relation with Facebook.
Despite the claim that the social site has advantages, it is equally important to highlight that it has contributed to a huge number of divorces in the US. Due to the many persuasions that emanate from Facebook and other social media platforms, the constructions of social problems like family breakups emerge. Most couples may also spend most of their time on social media platforms in their efforts to connect with friends, thus limiting time to discuss family matters (Onuf 59). Consequently, the social problem of collapsing marriage relationships is promoted.
Political viewpoint
The decline in marriage in the US has a political edge. This statement can be proved by the claims made by the Japanese MP, who was annoyed that Michelle Obama did not accompany her husband during the Tokyo trip. The MP claimed that President Obama has been cheating on his wife and that divorce was in the offing (Martosko par. 1). According to the claims, the marital lift between the couple was responsible for the president’s unaccompanied trip to Japan. The MP further wrote that the couple would divorce after leaving office (Martosko par. 1).
The theory of social constructionism is dependent on relationships and their influence on the people’s perceptions concerning the reality. The claims made by the Japanese MP drew great attention to the issue of divorce among the American people. The knowledge acquired by the citizens who upheld the claims leads to a construction of some social reality that supports divorce. As the claims become more and more pronounced, marriages in the US end up declining as the cases of divorce increase.
Religious viewpoint
In the US, the majority of social groups have been open to defend gay marriage. However, the Anglican Church claims that the traditional doctrine of the church dictates that marriage should be between a man and a woman. Marriage should abide by the teachings of scripture to attain a lifelong and faithful union (Winston par. 2). Due to varying claims that have been advanced by different social grouping, some individuals have opted to remain single, thus resulting in the drastic reduction of marriage ties. Other individuals have adopted single parenthood thereby weakening the family institution. The social problem continues to become more pronounced in the US as the claim makers influence the perception of society.
Conclusion
Social issues are situations that are viewed as undesirable by a particular group of people. In the US, several social problems have been witnessed including drug and substance abuse, immigration, crime, and declining marriages. Recently, cases of collapsing marriages have been on the rise. The theory of constructionism can be used to analyze this social problem. The constructionism theory views social illnesses, as having a relation to human interactions and it is thus appropriate when analyzing social problems. The problem of declining marriages in the US can be expounded using the economic, political, religious, and media viewpoints.
Works Cited
Ayelet, Lahat, Olga Walker, Connie Lamm, Kathryn Degnan, Heather Henderson, and Nathan Fox. “Cognitive Conflict Links Behavioral Inhibition and Social Problem Solving During Social Exclusion in Childhood.” Infant and Child Development 23.3 (2014): 273-282. Print.
Cowen, Tyler. “The marriages of power couples reinforce income inequality.” New York Times 2015. Web.
Kiraly, Donald. A social constructivist approach to translator education: Empowerment from theory to practice, New York: Routledge, 2014. Print.
Martosko, David. “Japanese MP who was angry that Michelle didn’t join president on Tokyo trip makes extraordinary claim that Obama cheats and their looming divorce is ‘an open secret’.” Mail Online 2014. Web.
Onuf, Nicholas. World of our making: rules and rule in social theory and international relations, New York: Routledge, 2012. Print.
Winston, Kimberly. “Anglicans suspend Episcopal Church over stance on same-sex marriage.” USA Today 2016. Web.