千禧一代成萬能“背鍋俠”，連離婚率下降都要怪他們了！
最新公佈的調查數據顯示，2008年到2016年間，美國離婚率下降了18%。這本是一個好消息，但有專家指出，這是千禧一代晚婚甚至不婚導致的。社交媒體用戶們紛紛吐槽，千禧一代爲各種產業發展和傳統習俗背鍋已不少，這又要繼續背鍋了！
These days, every time another industry starts to suffer or a long-held tradition begins to decline, the change is blamed on millennials.
如今，只要每次有哪個行業下滑，或者一項長期的傳統日漸式微，千禧一代都要出來背鍋。
Millennials have been blamed for killing everything from home ownership to casual dining restaurants to golf, but now they're getting credit for 'killing' something that's generally considered a bad thing, anyway: divorce.
從自置居所、休閒餐廳到高爾夫，人們責怪千禧一代限制了太多領域的發展，但如今，人們普遍認爲不是好事的“離婚”也被千禧一代“幹掉了”。
And they're certainly gloating. Twitter users have reacted to the news with glee, sharing funny, tongue-in-cheek tweets about millennials' role in plummeting divorce rates.
千禧一代當然有些幸災樂禍。推特用戶們在網上分享半開玩笑的有趣推文，談論千禧一代對離婚率下降的影響，幽默地迴應這一新聞。
New research shows that the US divorce rate dropped 18 percent from 2008 to 2016.
最新調查顯示，從2008年到2016年，美國離婚率下降了18%。
And according to analysis of US Census data by University of Maryland sociology professor Philip Cohen, that's all thanks to millennials, as well as younger members of Generation X.
根據美國馬里蘭大學社會學教授菲利普-科恩對美國人口普查數據的分析，這要歸咎於千禧一代和X世代中的年輕人。
According to the Pew Research Center, millennials are those who were born between 1981 and 1996, making them 22 to 37 years old.
根據皮尤研究中心的數據，千禧一代指的是出生於1981年至1996年間的人，如今年齡在22歲到37歲。
Cohen explained that millennials are waiting longer than Baby Boomers to tie the knot, and as such, have become less likely to divorce.
科恩解釋說，與嬰兒潮一代相比，千禧一代結婚更晚，所以離婚率也有所下降。
When the new data was published earlier this week, social media users found the news promising — but also particularly funny, in light of the trend of blaming millennials for industries that have died off.
最新數據在本週早些時候公佈時，社交媒體用戶覺得這一新聞還不錯，但也非常搞笑，因爲千禧一代一直在爲一些產業的消亡背鍋。
'Typical millennials, ruining another sacred institution with their avocado toasts and commitment to stable relationships,' quipped NBC News reporter Alex Seitz-Wald.
全美廣播公司新聞記者亞歷克斯-塞茨-瓦爾德打趣地說：“典型的千禧一代用他們的牛油果吐司和對穩定婚戀關係的承諾，毀掉了另一個神聖的制度（離婚）。”
'God damn millennials are ruining divorce!' tweeted Sarah Shower.
推特用戶薩拉-肖爾說：“天啦，千禧一代毀掉了離婚！”
'Millennials are ruining divorce??? What's next? Poverty? Stigmatized mental health issues?? Racism!??? This is a slippery slope people,' added another user sarcastically.
另一名用戶嘲諷地說：“千禧一代毀掉了離婚？接下來還要毀掉什麼？消除貧困？受污衊的精神健康問題？還是種族主義？真是越來越糟的一代。”
'Little shocking that bloomberg didn’t phrase this as like “millennials are ruining divorce lawyers’ retirement plans” or some s***' tweeted someone else.
還有人發推特說：“彭博社沒有把這句話說成‘千禧一代毀掉了離婚律師的退休計劃’等等，這還是讓我有點小震驚。”
According to Professor Cohen, the shrinking divorce rate is due in large part to younger people waiting longer to get married in the first place.
科恩教授說，首先，離婚率下降很大程度上是因爲年輕人結婚更晚。
By the time many say 'I do' these days, they've already gotten their education, careers, and finances in order.
如今在人們結婚時，他們已經把教育、事業和財務狀況都理順了。
Comedian Matt Fernandez quipped: 'New data shows that millennials are lowering the divorce rate because they're waiting until they're financially stable to get married. So I did the math, and that means I should be ready for marriage when I'm 400 years old.'
喜劇演員馬特-費爾南德斯打趣說：“最新數據顯示，千禧一代降低了離婚率，因爲他們要等到經濟穩定了再結婚。所以我算了算，這意味着我得到400歲才能結婚。”
Waiting longer means millennials are being choosier, too, dating more and longer before settling on a lifelong partner.
晚婚也表明千禧一代更挑剔，在找到一生的伴侶之前的戀愛時間更長。
'Unlike their parents, millennials aren’t marrying the first Tom, Dick, or Sherry that comes around,' joked one young woman from Chicago.
來自芝加哥的一位年輕女性開玩笑道：“和父母不一樣，千禧一代並不是剛遇見隨便一個什麼人就結婚了。”
Evidence suggests other reasons for the change, too, including that many young couples are putting off marriage in favor of simply cohabitating long term.
一些證據也揭示了離婚率下降的其他原因，包括很多年輕的情侶贊同長期同居，延遲了結婚。
Explained the Wall Street Journal's Christopher Mims, 'Good news: Millennials are much less likely to get divorced. Bad news: Because marriage is becoming less common and the privilege of the well-off, who were always less likely to divorce anyway.'
《華爾街日報》的克里斯多夫-米慕斯說：“好消息：千禧一代離婚的少了。壞消息：因爲結婚的人更少了，婚姻成了富人的特權，而這些人離婚的可能性本來就不大。”
And for some, it seems, the option to divorce is in itself too costly.
對一些人來說，離婚這一選擇看上去成本太高了。
'People are surprised that millennials are forcing the divorce rate to plummet like we can financially afford to build a life up together with someone else,' wrote one person on Twitter. 'LOL sorry you said till death and we have loans and a shared Netflix.'
“千禧一代迫使離婚率下降，人們還感到奇怪，就好像我們能負擔得起兩個人的生活似的。這太好笑了，很抱歉的是，你們還曾說過，直到死亡把我們分開，可是我們還要一起還貸款，還在共享網飛賬號呢。”
Cohen told that another reason for the decline in divorce is that Americans 'don’t feel pressured to marry before they have sex, have children or live together.'
科恩告訴每日郵報網站說，美國離婚率下降的另一原因是人們“在性生活、生兒育女或者同居之前，感受不到結婚的壓力。”
The median age for marriage in 1968 was 23 for men and 21 for women, but by 2017 those numbers shifted to age 30 for men and 27 for women, according to Pew Research Center.
根據皮尤研究中心的數據，1968年，美國人的平均結婚年齡爲男性23歲，女性21歲。而2017年，這一年齡爲男性30歲，女性27歲。
As divorce rates have declined for younger people, they have increased among people in their 60s and 70s. The divorce rate doubled among Americans age 55-64 from 1990-2015, and tripled among those age 65 and older during the same period, according to Bowling Green State University's National Center for Family and Marriage Research.
隨着年輕人離婚率的下降，六七十歲的老年人離婚率卻上升了。博林格林州立大學全國家庭與婚姻研究中心的數據顯示，從1990年到2015年，美國55歲到64歲的人羣離婚率翻倍，而65歲及以上老年人的離婚率同比增加到三倍。
At the same time, many low-income and under-educated Americans are choosing not to marry at all, instead opting to live together and in many cases raise children together.
與此同時，許多低收入和受教育程度低的美國人乾脆選擇不結婚，而是選擇同居以及合力撫養子女。
In fact, a quarter of parents who live with their children are unmarried, according to Pew Research Center.
根據皮尤研究中心的數據，事實上，有四分之一的和孩子一起生活的父母還未婚。
The rate of unmarried parents has steadily grown since 1968, when only 7 percent were unmarried. By 1987 that rose to 16 percent, and by 1997 it grew to 23 percent. The 2017 data - 25 percent - is the most recent available.
1968年美國的未婚父母比例僅佔7%，之後這一比例逐漸增加，到1987年增加到16%，1997年增加到23%。在2017年，這一比例爲25%，這已是最新的統計數據。
