De Anza students agree with the majority of Americans that say marriage has lost significance but is still important for individuals

A closer look at the “MillenniaGeneration” reveals a rising trend in casual relationships, without commitment or severity. Many young people between the ages of 18 to 36, chose dating over serious relationships.

“I’m young,” said business major Konstantin Harder, 18. “I want to have fun for a few years before I settle down with someone.”

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According to an informal survey of 76 De Anza College students, three out of five prefer casual dating to long-term relationships, but simultaneously the same amount said they want to commit to a marriage at some point in their lives.

“I think marriage gives a reassuring feeling,” said Ana Namiranian, a mechanical engineering major.

The 25-year-old said she wants to get married in the future but also thinks the concept of marriage has lost its significance in society.

Namiranian belongs to the 85 percent of surveyed students, who said marriage is not as necessary as it has been in past generations.

Zaneb Khan, 19, also said marriage lost importance in modern society and should therefore be defined by love and not by a piece of paper.

“If you are truly and completely in love with someone, then the value essentially remains the same,” said the neuroscience major.

The De Anza survey results are similar to a recent Harris Poll, in which 2,266 Americans evaluated the importance of marriage.

In the poll, 75 percent answered that marriage is important to them, but also that it has lost significance compared with past generations. In fact, 39 percent said marriage is not necessary at all.

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“As long as the couple is in love, marriage is not necessary,” said Brian Neuman, a 20-year-old journalism major. “But I still want to get married at some point in my life.”

Most students also agree with the results of the Harris Poll, in which 57 percent said that couples should live together before getting married.

Philosophy major Austin Green, 18, belongs to the 12 percent of students that disagree with this statement. He said couples shouldn’t move in together before getting married in order to “make the advantages of getting married more tangible.”

Green said certain actions, such as moving in together, should be avoided before marriage, to more clearly distinguish dating from marriage and strengthen the bond between the couple.

The Harris Poll stated that two-thirds of Americans think married parents are necessary to establish a family, while more than half of the questioned De Anza students said that married parents are not relevant to raising children.

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Business major Omar Hashem, 20, said people think marriage is the basis of a “proper family,” but in reality, unmarried couples are just as qualified to raise children as married couples.

“It’s important for them (children) to have a loving home,” he said. “Whether the parents are married or not is irrelevant.”

Overall, marriage is just symbolic, said Neuman. “The importance lies in the actual practice of love.”