Family is one of the most basic kinds of human activity, an essential condition for the functioning of society, and an important element of its self-organization. The institution of the family has a significant influence on society’s economic progress and political culture. The current socio-economic situation in the world and the current globalization process have led to the development of the family as a cultural institution (Lakritz). There are significant differences between what the family was in the 20th century and what it has become in the 21st, justified by social, economic, cultural, and other factors.
Family functions are profoundly historical, and their nature and hierarchy change over time. Some of them are entirely forgotten, and more appropriate ones replace others under new social conditions. Changes in living standards in recent decades have led to changes in the mentality of young people and their orientation toward the family (Lakritz). This contributed to the emergence of the modern family model, which replaced the established traditional one. Parents had to spend more money, and invest tremendous emotional resources in raising their kids.
Another critical change that could not help but impact family and family roles was the rapid increase in people’s level of education, especially women. The sharply increased demands on the upbringing and education of the younger generation could not remain without consequences for the family (Miller). The costs per child and the duration of parental support for them increased dramatically. And since, in parallel with these changes, the infant mortality rate declined quite rapidly, the number of children surviving also increased.
Under the new conditions, to educate children and provide the necessary level of care for the health of family members, and particular professional knowledge. Social institutions with a developed infrastructure were needed, which the family could not replace. The response to this new situation worldwide has been the development of modern educational and social security systems that care for disabled family members. As a result, even minimal investments in human beings have increased dramatically, whereas both family and community resources in the 1920s and 1930s were more than limited (Miller). In many countries, a rapid decline in fertility began; it was a response to both the decline in infant death and the rise in the “cost” of human beings.
Carrying and feeding children, which had taken decades of a woman’s life, was now limited to a few years. Moreover, the period in which these years fall became a woman’s choice. The space of specific biological maternal duties, which occupied a considerable place in the life of the traditional family, has sharply narrowed. Accordingly, the field of other, freely chosen social functions has expanded; the whole configuration of family life has changed dramatically.
In the 21st century, there is an increased selectivity in the search for a long-term marriage partner. Still, there are lower requirements for short-term sexual partners; such sexual encounters do not necessarily have to turn into a lasting marriage. Both partners and the social environment perceive these relationships as preparation for the wedding, which can be full of errors. The age of sexual debut increasingly does not coincide with the age of marriage. The evolution of views on the family in the 21st century reflects the objective processes of the gradual establishment of the urban family in the new social world and its increasing desire for independence (Furstenberg 329). However, the search for new forms of organizing a person’s personal life goes beyond the traditional family model and is far from over.
Works Cited
Furstenberg, Frank. “Family Change in Global Perspective: How and Why Family Systems Change.” Family Relations, vol 68, no. 3, 2019, pp. 326-341. Web.
Lakritz, Talia. “THEN AND NOW: How American Families Have Changed since the Early 1900s.” Insider, 2019. Web.
Miller, Claire Cain. “The Costs of Motherhood Are Rising, and Catching Women Off Guard.” The New York Times, 2018. Web.