“Fear of missing out” is used to explain why people use social media items they don’t need nor want. But marriage is an example too.
I know there is wholesome cases where people want to start a family with other people they like to spend time with.
But a lot of the times it was also “Hey I am of the age my siblings and friends got married. I should meet people with the sole goal of marrying them and raising children.”
It’s really more of a contract, “I promise to carry and raise your children, you promise to provide the money” That’s why throughout much of history, you couldn’t get divorced, it wasn’t about love, it was about security.
Nowadays marriage isn’t really as important as before, but still relevant. For women, having a child usually still means making career sacrifices.