When a statistic becomes popular and well-known, it often has a lot of staying power. People keep repeating it as if it is a fact, even long after it becomes outdated or something else proves that it’s just not accurate.
Take, for example, the common expression that half of all marriages end in divorce. If you put a group of married couples in a room together, many people will say that 50 percent of them are going to split up.
Is that true? Probably not. People came up with that number in the 1970s, and it was a projection even then. That was nearly 50 years ago. The marriage landscape is far different today. Divorce rates have gone both up and down over the decades.
Is divorce more common in modern American than it was 100 years ago? Sure. However, divorce rates in more recent years have actually dropped. There’s no telling what the trends will do over the next 10 years. Adhering to some idea that half of all marriages end, year in and year out, is inaccurate. It could rise above that or drop far below it.
Even so, this example illustrates that incredible staying power. When people repeat things often enough, they start to take on the appearance of truth, whether they are true or not.
It’s important to keep this in mind if you do end up getting divorced. Are you buying into any other myths that may complicate the process? Do you really know your rights? Make sure you carefully look into your legal options throughout every step in the process.