The Decline of Marriage and Rise of New Families (Pew Research Center)

The survey also finds striking differences by generation. In 1960, two-thirds (68%) of all twenty-somethings were married. In 2008, just 26% were.

How many of today's youth will eventually marry is an open question. For now, the survey finds that the young are much more inclined than their elders to view cohabitation without marriage and other new family forms -- such as same-sex marriage and interracial marriage -- in a positive light.

Even as marriage shrinks, family -- in all its emerging varieties -- remains resilient. The survey finds that Americans have an expansive definition of what constitutes a family. And the vast majority of adults consider their own family to be the most important, most satisfying element of their lives.

I doubt this news comes as a shock to any of us, but it's always nice to have some data to back up what seems to be happening in the world. Overall, just something I found interesting and thought I'd share.

Read the full article here.

More Women Without Children (Pew Research Center)

Over the past few decades, public attitudes toward childlessness have become more accepting. Most adults disagree that people without children "lead empty lives," a share that rose to 59% in 2002 from 39% in 1988, according to the General Social Survey. In addition, children increasingly are seen as less central to a good marriage. In a 2007 Pew Research Center survey, 41% of adults said that children are very important for a successful marriage, a decline from 65% who said so in 1990.

Yes, this isn't about filmmaking, but let me remind you I did say from the beginning that sometimes I'd post stuff just because I thought it was interesting. And, if you think about it, all these childless women will need something to fill up their empty, empty lives. Why not movies? (Joking!!)
Read the article here.

Public Sees a Future Full of Promise and Peril (Pew Research Center/Smithsonian)

Imagine a future in which cancer becomes a memory, ordinary people travel in space, and computers carry on conversations like humans. Now imagine a darker future -- a world beset by war, rising temperatures and energy shortages, one where the United States faces a terrorist attack with nuclear weapons.
Most Americans think that these developments and many others are likely to unfold over the next 40 years.

Who doesn't want to read other people's vision of the future? No crystal balls here, but still really interesting. Some highlights:
* 58% believe WW III will happen before 2050.
* 46% believe public education will worsen.
* 41% believe Jesus Christ will return.

Read the overview article here.
Read the full report here.