"I Don't Want Anything Complicated"... Marriage Takes a Back Seat for Indonesia's MZ Generation [The World is Z Gold]

As the global trend of delaying or avoiding marriage continues, Indonesia is also seeing its younger generation postponing marriage. Indonesia, the world’s largest Muslim country, has traditionally placed importance on early marriage. However, recently, young people are increasingly choosing not to rush into marriage, citing high living costs and the burden of housing expenses as reasons.

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Recently, the Indonesian daily newspaper The Jakarta Post reported, "Marriage, which was once considered a rite of passage into adulthood, is now being redefined by Generation Z in Indonesia," adding, "They are postponing marriage or opting for smaller ceremonies due to soaring living costs and changing values."

Indonesia is a Muslim country where about 87% of its total population of around 280 million are followers of Islam. In Islam, marriage is considered a recommended act. The Quran, Chapter 24, Verse 32, includes the phrase 'Encourage the unmarried to marry.' Amid this social atmosphere that has traditionally emphasized marriage, there is now a trend of postponing marriage.

According to Statistics Indonesia (BPS), Indonesia’s child marriage rate stood at 9.23% in 2023, meaning that 1 out of every 9 women experienced child marriage. The government raised the minimum age at which women can marry from 16 to 19 in 2019, but the custom of child marriage still persists.

Sapira (26, alias), a designer working in Jakarta, also does not consider marriage her top priority in life. She said, "I want to get married when I am ready both financially and mentally, and when my career and life have stabilized." Currently, Sapira is focusing on her future, but she shared that she often receives questions from relatives asking whether she has any plans to get married.

Some people adopt a cautious attitude toward marriage after witnessing unhappy marriages around them. Kansa (22), from Bekasi, West Java, said she became wary about marriage after observing the difficult married lives of women around her. She recalled, "I once saw a woman struggling to feed children at a restaurant while her husband was just looking at his phone." Kansa is now focusing on travel and preparing for her master’s degree, seeking her own path to happiness and fulfillment.

Photo is unrelated to specific expressions in the article. Pixabay

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Even when they choose to marry, the trend is toward simplification. Raisa Wardana (25, alias) plans to hold her wedding in her hometown of Surakarta, Central Java, this August. She said she would have the ceremony without a separate reception, explaining, "I don't want anything complicated. Preparing a reception is just too much work." Raisa plans to invite about 100 guests, and her total budget is set at 50 million rupiah (about 435,000 won), which is half the cost of her sister’s 1,200-guest wedding held in 2013. She said, "Instead of spending money on venue rentals or decorations that are used for just one day, I want to invest in our future."

Experts say Generation Z places great importance on independent thinking and thus has a strong tendency to decide for themselves whether and when to marry. Sociologist Rahmat Hidayat stated, "Young people naturally accept the possibility of living without marriage," adding, "Even if they do marry, they carefully consider the next steps, such as financial issues." He emphasized, "The strength of Generation Z lies in their independent thinking-they are not a generation that can be simply forced or directed."

Photo by Pixabay

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This is not a phenomenon limited to Indonesia. Across the world, the trend of postponing or avoiding marriage continues, with the burden of housing and living costs, and increasing expenses for childbirth and childrearing cited as major reasons.

Changing perceptions of marriage have also led to changes in wedding culture. In Japan, simplified marriage methods are on the rise, such as "nashikon," where couples skip the ceremony and just register their marriage, or "at-home weddings," which are held in small gatherings at home. There are even "solo weddings" for singles. In the United States, weddings with significantly reduced guest numbers are spreading as a way to cut costs. Representative examples include "micro weddings" with about 50 guests and "minimony weddings" with fewer than 10 guests.

Meanwhile, the demand for various services is increasing as people try to avoid the social pressure surrounding marriage. In Vietnam, ahead of the biggest traditional holiday, the Lunar New Year "Tet," online posts seeking "rent-a-date" partners have sparked controversy. People hire someone to act as their partner for a set period to avoid relatives’ questions about marriage and relationships during the holiday. The daily cost is reportedly between 500,000 and 1 million dong (about 28,000 to 60,000 won). In China, it is reported that "fake girlfriend" services are popular as a way to avoid family pressure to marry.

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