No, marriage is not an outdated custom
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Married couples are better off
Married couples tend to be more financially stable, healthier and offer greater stability for children.
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The Argument
According Heritage.org, "decades of statistics have shown that, on average, married couples have better physical health, more financial stability, and greater social mobility than unmarried people." Marriage is not just about the commitment between two people. Rather, it benefits both partner's overall life. Along with commitment, marriage holds a certain amount of responsibility towards one another. The couple will rely on each other to provide for their lifestyle as well as emotional support.[1]
Beyond looking at the benefits for the partners themselves, it can also benefit any children born or raised within the marriage. If a couple decides to have children, there are studies done that show how a stable home results in a better upbringing. Heritage.org explains how children within a strong married couple are shown to have higher academic performance, as well as being more emotionally mature as opposed to those who did not experience the same.
Counter arguments
While marriages often do offer benefits, there are times when this is not the case. Sometimes, marriages hurt the partners' relationship. They may decide to get married in order to help one of the individual's financial situation or even to fix certain aspects of their relationship. However, marriages need more than just love in order to function properly.
Premises
[P1] Marriages offer more than just commitment, including financial stability and better physical health.
[P2] Marriages help not only the partners in them, but the children as well.
Rejecting the premises
[Rejecting P1] Marriage can also hurt other aspects of the partners lives such financial statuses from factors such as student and credit card debt.
[Rejecting P2] An unstable marriage that the partners choose to stay in offers a unstable environment for any children they had.