The first post pretty much echoes the majority of the immature and ignorant mindsets of marriage in this topic.
Personally I wouldn't want to get married. I've been in situations before where I was financially linked to someone and I didn't care for it one bit.
What situation was this and how does it compare to marriage? If you didn't "care for it one bit", then that makes the analogy null since marriage is about
caring more than one bit.
I like the freedom of being unmarried. If a relationship doesn't work then you can both just go your separate ways but if a marriage doesn't work you have to go through a long process of paperwork and turmoil. It's just kind of silly to stay with someone you're not happy with because you lost your virginity to them anyway.
Don't know what you mean by the virginity thing, but you must be going off of some silly personal experience and using it to make blanket statements. Not smart.
Second, are you serious? Paperwork is your problem? Ending any long-term relationship with big investments is turmoil paperwork or not. I say this from first-hand experience.
Sounds to me that most of you are just scared. Scared to be vulnerable and put trust in another human being besides your own blood. Scared to actually live your life for another rather than yourself and yours. Yes, the task seems daunting at first, but it's possible. It's not a matter of looking at your high school or celebrities and deciding then; it's a matter of thinking of that ideal person you already have in your head, and then finding them.
If you choose to just be in a relationship all of your life and never get married, that would be very disadvantageous. There would always be an avenue of the person leaving any time they want. Compared to a married person in which there is a clear contract. In other words, there is less security in the relationship. That is what marriage does at least mentally: create security and bonding that's one level above "in a relationship". I've not even gotten to the law advantages yet.
Some of you still need time in life, I guess.