Contemplating the idea of marriage and dating

   I recently read an article from the LA Times on the topic of divorce rates in the Baby Boomer generation. Staff writer Susan L. Brown dubbed the recent trend in couples splitting up in their 50's a "gray divorce" boom. Within the last decade, the amount of Baby Boomers separating has gone from fewer than 10%, to one in four.
   So, what's the reason for this trend?
   As I thought about this, I remembered studying the 50's in my AP American History class last year (by far, my favorite subject). I remembered how the key point that was taught to my class, was the extreme sense of conformity during this time (look up the song "Little Boxes"-- written satirically during the era). People during this time were getting 9-5 jobs, settling down, having kids, creating families like clockwork. USA Today published a graph showing a sudden drastic drop in the average age of people getting married at this time (Through this decade, the graph showed a point where the average age plummeted to 22.8 in males, and 20.3 in women). 
   Now, this frightened me for various reasons. The first being the obvious correlation to the social- likeness of this decade to common Utah ideology.  Far to many of my friends are "waiting" for missionaries, and are talking about starting up families-- keep in mind, I'm currently a senior in High school. One of my absolute best friends had dated  a guy for literally one month, and has been waiting roughly a full year now. She has her dress picked out, he sent her the ring, they've decided on a date, and I think this is absolutely crazy.
   I realize different things work for different people, and to impose my own views on others is nothing but detrimental to relationships. This being said, comparing the bulk of my friends idealistic thought processes regarding marriage, up against the statistic that says divorces are 3-4 times more likely to occur if you wed before the age of 20, sort of makes me want to physically shake them. Although I don't typically voice my opinions about my friends and their relationships, the fact that I don't want the exact same thing, as logical as it may be, seems to have limited my dating options as of late.
   Recently, I went on a date with a seemingly nice, fun, and successful guy (around the age of 23). We went country- swing dancing, played a childish-- but fun -- game of hide and go seek at the Spectrum in Logan. While the activities were definitely pleasant, the conversation set me on edge; It was almost like I was being interrogated (age, what I'm going into as a career, am I going on a mission (you're not LDS?), and so on).
   After hearing that I wasn't LDS, and I didn't plan on starting a family any time soon, his demeanor changed drastically. From trying to show off and being respectful, to borderline derogatory.  If I were to say that this hadn't happened on more than one occasion, with more than one guy, I'd be lying. As soon as you indicate that there is slim to no chance of marriage in the next couple years, respect is lost and often you're seen as an object. Either that, or I've had someone incessantly try to convert me to mesh with the idea of early marriage.
   It's like societal clockwork. You graduate, you wait for a missionary, or seek out a returned one, you settle down, and have kids. And apparently, studies have shown roughly half get divorced?
   If marriage is suppose to provide both emotional and economic stability, I don't quite understand how so many people believe it's a good idea to seek it out before you find those qualities in yourself. Someone still developing, without a career or a solid sense of who they are, should pair up with another unstable and undefined being... and that's supposed to work out well? And what about the impact on kids involved?
   And according to the majority of  my peers and their families, I'm the odd one out on the subject. I'm not doing what I'm "supposed" to be doing. I'm (definitely not always, but on occasion) being object to gross behavior due to the fact that I want stability before I try to completely integrate into someone's life?
   I think that time is the only thing that can reveal a person's true colors, and if you're like my dear friend-- is one month enough to be able to tell if you can stay married your entire existence? In my head, I'm not sure even a couple years would do this. I want to understand every aspect of someone before I commit to spending, sharing, and creating my life with them. I don't understand the aversion to waiting and testing the waters.
   Instead of being asked what I do or where I'll be in two years, it'd be nice for someone to query about who I currently am, and why (I'm usually genuinely interested) .  And if our views on things don't clash, I'd still liked to stray away from being treated as an object, or people assuming I'm a complete whore (not wanting to get married, doesn't exactly equate to a lack of standards or morality, sorry to say).
   Society and logic are seeming to clash for me as of late. And being raised in this one (predominantly Mormon) town, I'm not sure what many other perspectives there are regarding the subject of dating or marriage.