in some culture the parents arrange marriage for their children but in others people choose their own marriage partner. What are the advantages and disadvantages of each system?

Having a life partner is something many societies look forward to from a young age. The institution of marriage is an important one. It is more common nowadays for individuals to select their partners themselves,

although

, in many countries, it is still common practice for parents to do the selecting. For those who have the option of choosing their spouses, they get to do it on their own terms. They pick a person based on qualities the know they have from spending time interacting with them.

This

is advantageous because a major factor in happy marriages is doing it with people whom they are familiar with.

This

familiarity is borne out of spending time with them in a period known a 'courtship'.

This

is where the two parties involved get to know more about each other. They ensure they have the same or similar values as them, they

also

choose people whom they have many things in common with, these include hobbies, education, religious beliefs etc. Above all these, they choose persons whom they can say they love.

This

way, they live with decisions they have made and

therefore

cannot blame any external parties. The drawback of

this

method

on the other hand

is that there is

such

a large crowd to pick from and

this

can be very confusing.

Also

, you may not know anything about their family history and

this

may prove detrimental to the marriage along the line. On the flip side, where you have your parents choosing your marriage partner, you can be sure that a lot of research has been put into it. From family cultural history to family medical history and family values, everything has been looked into. For countries that practice the caste system, it is ensured that marriages happen between folks of the same caste.

Also

, for those who are royalty, marrying into royalty preserves the bloodline. The major drawback of

this

system is that the individuals usually do not have any say in the matter. Once a decision has been made, they have to go through with it.

This

leads to forced unwanted marriages. Another drawback is that for

this

system, there usually is no courtship period and two strangers become joined in a wedding just because their parents want it so. It undermines their right to decision-making as adults. In conclusion, both practices have their benefits and setbacks. In, my opinion, I believe adults should be allowed to do what they want and

also

live with the consequences of their decisions. For many others, culture and preserving it is most important to them. Whichever side of the divide, I believe it is possible to make both systems work.