You shouldn't become an adult at 18 years old, amirite?

I went to college, but believing someone's not an adult unless they finish college… that's just stupid.

by Anonymous 1 year ago

Some of us left home by then and needed rights to do so. Not every home is a good one.

by Anonymous 1 year ago

*Probably don't have a job* I had a job at 15 and so did most of my friends. Childhood is not this magical safety net for everyone. Some kids live in controlling, abusive homes and want to get the hell out. Becoming an adult is what set me free. Do I think there should be more support for disadvantaged young people? Absolutely. But they should be encouraged to start getting their life together at 18 while still receiving the guidance they need from transitional housing programs. Plus you usually graduate HS at this age and are ready for college. No college student needs their parents breathing down their neck anymore. I would even argue that a mature 16-17 year old should be emancipated if that's what they want and they've been deemed competent by the courts.

by Anonymous 1 year ago

By the time I was 18 I was financially independent of my parents through a combination of scholarships and jobs. Anything to stay out of that controlling, abusive home. From our experience, most people in their late teens are capable of surviving as adults, if they need to. Contemporary culture has succumbed to the vice of optimization. "Optimally", childhood is this magical safety net for everyone. And extended adolescence, which is in fact challenging to navigate without help from parents. But I don't wish I had that. Making my own choices was worth something. The harder path can build more strength.

by Anonymous 1 year ago

I know an elderly person. She was telling me the other day that one of her best friends got married at 15 to her 17 year old boyfriend. They moved across the country for work. After just a few years they were more and more active in local politics, things to do with the city, etc. They became somewhat well known.

by Anonymous 1 year ago

i like how the first point is just "this is how we named these numbers so they have meaning about your maturity" lol you just wanna rearrange words around

by Anonymous 1 year ago

your right. it should be around 16, 18 is WAY to high.. oh wait, your saying it should be more?! your insane.

by Anonymous 1 year ago

My son decided not to go to college. He has been working for three years in a manufacturing job. We gave him a 20 year old car. He pays his rent, his groceries, his gas, etc. We take him out for dinner once or twice a week but other than that he is completely on his own. How could he be considered anything but an adult?

by Anonymous 1 year ago

Yea but if you're 18 and wanna go to college, but aren't considered an adult, how would securing funding for that work?

by Anonymous 1 year ago

Well then we'd have to change a lot of other laws. So, if 18 is no longer an "adult" does that also change age of consent laws? A 21 year old cannot legally date an 18 year old? A 20 year old shouldn't have any legal or personal control over who they date/sleep with because they're not totally financially independent yet? We'd also need to change voting laws. And what about going off to college? A minor cannot rent an apartment in most places; if 18 is still considered a "minor" then you're going to have a lot of 18-early 20s people completely unable to legally rent a place to live. How does this help anything?

by Anonymous 1 year ago

I think its more of a maturity thing some 30 year olds act like 15 year olds some 15 year olds act like 30 year olds its more mental then how old you are but i think 18s a good place to label an adult

by Anonymous 1 year ago

18 is the beginning of adulthood full of choices and responsibilities, not what you are "supposed" to do.

by Anonymous 1 year ago

So by your logic if someone moved out of their house at 16 and got emancipated and had a job and a place to live they'd be an adult but the 19 year old who's in college and on course to graduate but lives at home would be a kid?

by Anonymous 1 year ago

I agree, since I live with the binary count system. I've yet to become an adult and it's driving me insane. 010011 should be old enough.

by Anonymous 1 year ago

More parents should do more to get kids ready for the world. My friends were working on a house recently. They always helped me, so i helped. My friends son is 16, he helped. He knows his parents do a lot for him. My other friends 8 year old was also very interested. He wants to be like his Dad. I see other people just handing their kids screens as babysitters

by Anonymous 1 year ago

You don't "become an adult" at 18 years old, you become legally responsible for certain personal choices. Because that has to happen at some point, and 18 isn't unreasonable. If you don't want to consider someone an adult at any age because they don't have their whole life together, you can still do that.

by Anonymous 1 year ago

I mean, if you wanted to get really technical, most people's brains aren't finished full developing until they're in their mid-20's. So by this logic, you could even extend it and say *"You're not an adult until you're 25!"* But obviously saying "You're not an adult until you're 25" is ridiculous. 18 is a good "standard" for entering adulthood just because by that point, your brain and body should be developed enough to basically be able to take care of yourself and make informed decisions, and you're also likely finishing up basic schooling. Granted, I do think that there are some things that should wait a little longer, but 18 is a good baseline for when more adult responsibilities can start to be handled by most.

by Anonymous 1 year ago

You're conflating what it means to be legally considered an adult and what you personally think it means to be an adult.

by Anonymous 1 year ago

People become Adults when they can come to terms with mortality. There is no prescribed age except for legal reasons.

by Anonymous 1 year ago

So your logic is…. Because 20 is a round number? You know 20 is round because we use base 10 because we have 10 fingers. If we had 9 fingers, then 18 would be round.

by Anonymous 1 year ago

There's no such thing as your 10s

by Anonymous 1 year ago