Blog Entry 3 (Rising divorce rates)

One of the biggest social issues here in Singapore now, is the rise in divorce rates. In the year 2006, divorces and annulments hit a record high of 7,061! Two decades ago, this figure was just 2,608. That is almost an increase in divorce rates by 3 times! This increase is really disturbing as it shows that Singaporean couples take marriage for granted. In the past, marriage vows meant something. Today, going by the rising number of divorces, vows seem empty of value. But what are the causes of the rising number of divorces? According to some counsellors, the me-me-me generation prefer personal gratification above all else. Couples these days place more emphasis on personal happiness rather than the family’s' happiness. In the past, the emphasis on happiness was more about 'family'. Now, it's more about 'me'. When young people get married, they find it hard to adjust from 'me' to 'we'." Couples these days do not know how to give in to their spouse as their parents gave them everything when they were young whereas for the older generation, they just took whatever was given to them.

The consequences of the rise in divorce rates are rather serious too. With more divorce cases, there will be a decline in birth rates or worse, children suffering from broken families will all have an impact on society.

I feel that the rising in divorce cases is a really serious issue. The fact that couples these days are taking marriage, a "sacred" bond between man and woman, for granted, shows that Singaporeans will take other less important things from granted too! If other important things were taken for granted, that will mean people will take work for granted, which will result in the decline of the economy.

I also feel that these couples are really selfish too. Over disliking his or her spouse habits, they must resort to such a large scale solution such as divorce. The divorce will result in their children being devastated and only have one parent. The child will not be able to grow up in a fully functional family and will be emotionally traumatised.

I feel that what is needed to solve the issue of the rise in divorce rates is revolves around tolerance. Both parties must learn to "give-and-take" and tolerate each other. They should realise that everyone has flaws and so they should learn to accept their flaws and look pass it.

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