Joint to nuclear, nuclear to live-in

Marriage plans? No, not yet. This is a very common reply one hears from single individuals these days. Staying in a relationship is better than committing to one another is one of the popular modern-day thought. This has given rise to live-in relationship pattern. Trends have changed over a period of time, from joint family of many number of members living together under one roof to nuclear family having countable number of family members to just the two people living together without any bond. There is definite acceptability & freedom towards one another in this set up, but levels of commitment and sense of responsibility takes a walk away.
Acceptability plays a vital role in establishing families. Talking about joint family, it’s typically a bunch of people called family members including grandparents, parents, married brother’s family and one’s own family. There are number of dependents living under one roof with acceptability towards each other & with higher bond of unity. Different family members and their relatives are more affectionate in this type of set up. Whereas in nuclear family, number of dependents are lesser in number & a typical family consists of husband, wife and couple of children.
In today’s world, there has been a makeshift from joint family to concept of nuclear family. Freedom and sense of responsibility as factors have become reason to such a makeshift. Also, concept of no commitment & responsibility has led to nuclear family getting further diluted to live-in relationship. Thus, in urban life, things have gone beyond nuclear family.
In earlier times, living together was considered as a blessing and it was taken up with high degree of acceptance of all & head of the family used to take charge of majority of the decisions that were to be taken for the family. Those are irreplaceable relationships of father, mother, uncles, aunts, grandparents etc. Further to this, modernization has brought in nuclear family concept which was more due to factor of freedom. As per couples, nuclear family gave them freedom to think as per themselves, travel, raise kids as per their wish & also, monetary freedom to invest or spend money as per their convenience & comfort. Next and the latest one is live-in relationship. A tie with no tie-band actually, no degree of responsibility, only sharing house to stay together & stay un-committed. There is no law tying two individuals together & thus, whenever one feels like, he or she can walk out of the relationship. The option to walk away makes this pattern of relationship fearless in nature and, also as incompatible partners can move on with their lives, it has become a popular relationship type in younger generation.
As a matter of fact, becoming judgmental is very difficult when it comes to conclude on changes that have happened in living style of people with urbanization. Changing roles of gender, technological advancement and better opportunities in various fields of work life has disintegrated joint family concept. Circumstances in one’s life also contribute to choice of type of family one takes. Nuclear family has its own pros for which its one of the most preferred pattern of lifestyle. Background of one person family –wise leads to chosen decision of staying in joint or nuclear family. It is important to treat your family members, in either forms of living, with respect & good conduct. Structural propinquity is just a word then. Live-in relationship members are of experimental sorts in nature who wants to stay together with no commitment towards each other.
One of the other reasons behind this makeshift can be a messy divorce between the parents which makes children think that this is an easy way out. The live-in relationship which gives them a sense of belonging and freedom without all the legal hassle that a marriage comes with. The urban and metro population also shies away from traditions that come along with the legal document as in India you don’t marry the girl or for that matter the boy but you marry the family.
The inner workings of a mind of a person who has opted for a living are difficult to understand. Is it the ease and simplicity that lure them, or has the online buying culture ingrained itself in our lives so much that we have taken the ‘Try before you buy’ phrase literally or is it just about challenging all the bloody traditions and norms that the society has set up for us. I think the future will unfold all the questions that remain unanswered at this moment.