Is the family the basis for the personal happiness of modern man? Or is it a long-obsolete public institution that hinders rather than helps? Discussion of these topics can often be found in various forums. We will also try to answer these questions.

When did everything start to change?

Many Western social researchers believe that there has never been such a sharp change in life priorities as it is now. In total, for some fifty years, the family was considered a fundamental value in the life of any person, and with a rather strict hierarchy where: the husband was engaged in the material support of the household, the wife raised the offspring, while there were at least three children. But along with the advent of first material prosperity, then the development of social and personal freedoms and, finally, the so-called sexual revolution, everything changed almost overnight.

Propaganda of freedom of sexual relations, protection of personal space and the right to self-expression flowed like a river from all mass sources of information. Naturally, the family and the values ​​associated with it are an anachronism that has become obsolete and binds a person hand and foot.

And what are the consequences of the changes?

As there is no color only black or white, so this change has a good side, and not so much.

Family

1.  The woman became an active participant in public life. She gained civil rights as well as the freedom to choose her own destiny. Now no one forces you to live according to the accepted pattern, but to look for an individual path in life.
2. The equality of men and women is not only confirmed by the public, but also by law.
3. Freedom of sexual relations with the right to choose a partner. To do this, now there is a great variety of reliable contraceptives, all kinds of sites with a search on a given topic.

But there are not so rosy changes:

1. Large families have become a rarity these days.
2. It is rare to find people who have been married for more than twenty years.
3. Statistics notice an annual increase in patients with mental illness.
4. The number of suicides is growing from year to year.
5. Most men don't want to get married and take responsibility for other people's lives.
6. A much more criminal environment is becoming more tense, even among schoolchildren.
7.  Abuse of bad habits began from an earlier age.
8. The level of education has decreased significantly, as well as the average indicators of intelligence and cultural upbringing of a person.
9.  Now a huge number of children are being brought up in single-parent families or without one at all.
10. Significantly reduced the number of white nations.
11. The number of nursing homes, all kinds of shelters, and so on has increased.

This is not yet a complete list of these transformations and, unfortunately, the statistics for some of them are becoming more and more sad. And despite the fact that there are positive changes, there are still many times more negative ones.

And now let's try to answer the main question: has modern man become happier without a family? Judging by the data above, not really. Then perhaps the family is not so useless, as some supporters of ephemeral freedoms claim?

What is the meaning of family relationships?

Before answering the main question of this article, let's look at what functions the family still performs in a person's life. Here are the following:

reproductive

This has always been one of the main reasons for starting a family in almost all times. Of course, it is much easier to raise a child when there is a father and mother. It is easier both from a material point of view and a psychological one.

Financial

Unfortunately, very often our country, as well as the whole world, at least once every decade is struck by some kind of monetary crisis with different severity of consequences, in the form of: unemployment, depreciation of material resources and other things. These hard times are easier to survive together than alone. In addition, with a joint budget, you can afford everything much more than with an individual one.

Psychological

Close people are the first to come to the rescue, at least in the form of psychological support. Since they are interested in the moral and material stability of all family members, it is possible, without expecting any trick, to turn to them for support or advice, which, although not often, are still very necessary.

Other functions can be distinguished here, but these are the fundamental ones. As we can see, there is nothing bad in it, but on the contrary. And all the negative reviews about this public institution are just “horror stories”. Of course, starting a family is not an easy task and should be taken seriously. This is especially true of the choice of a potential spouse. This is where you shouldn't rush. With mutual sympathy and love, as well as the desire to build a family stronghold with a worthy person, this task will be easily solved.