SAN DIEGO – Cupid may be hitting the mark in the shopping aisle, but he’s not having much luck coaxing couples down the wedding aisle. Although Valentine’s Day spending on significant others will reach a record high in the United States this year, fewer Americans are marrying and having sex, leading to fewer babies being born. But there is evidence to suggest that Cupid’s aim will improve in coming years. If we want to survive as a species, we should be rooting for the pudgy cherub’s success.

It’s easy to point to all sorts of dreadful news about the prospects for young people globally. A survey by Japan’s National Institute of Population and Social Security found that 17.3% of men and 14.6% of women aged between 18 and 34 have no intention of ever tying the knot, while many young women are swearing off sex altogether. In the US, Generation Z tells pollsters that they will never earn enough money to buy a home, while 59% of young people around the world say they are very or extremely worried about the planet overheating.

And yet a careful inventory of modern-day American dating and marriage trends gives hope that candlelight dinners for two are not a thing of the past. Let’s organize our inventory with the acrostic ROMANCE:

Rings are pricey, with the average engagement ring costing about $5,500. But this average is biased upward by Kardashian wannabees, who stroll........

© Project Syndicate