Why do people make a big deal about this?

[Anonymous]

When someone is 17 they treat them like kids but when they are 18 they suddenly become an adult when there is little difference between them.

In most places 17 year olds can consent to sex with anyone and drive a car, go to military and have the capability to do everything 18 year olds can mentally and physically.

I don't see any difference between 17 and 18.

[DryGermanGuy]

That‘s American style infantilizing and helicoptering of young people. They also assume you cannot handle alcohol until you are 21.
My country has a drinking age of 16 (14 with your parents) for beer and wine and an age of consent of 14. Strangely enough, this works better than all the fear and law-mongering in the United States.

[wiltingrosepetal]

That's because physical, emotional and cognitive aging are gradual. As well as subjective. A person who is 22 may be as immature as a 13 year old. A person who's 18 might still be going through a height spurt. Everyone is different.

Adulthood is a slow, rising current that moves over you without you noticing. But laws have to be objective and set in stone, they have to decide when something IS and ISN'T. So they treat adulthood like a crashing tidal wave.

[Zestyassmf1997]

Same difference between 17 and 16 and 364 days old. Gotta draw the line somewhere.

[shortster]

It is when you legally become an adult. There has to be a coming of age moment our society has just decided it is your 18th birthday and not something else like a rite of passage.

[jahaims]

18 is a legal adult

[Asker]

There's not much difference between them

[jahaims]

Legal rights are the difference