Are we adults at 18 or 21?

[Stoner710]

So of course legally we are adults at 18. But less important decisions we can’t make at 18 but at 21 like buy a beer or smoke a cigarettes or weed or in some states go to a strip club or gamble. There trying to make it so you have to be 21 to buy a gun. All these decisions are less important then.

voting

getting married

having sex

joining the military

we need a standard. I don’t think if you can’t buy a beer again or cigarettes or weed until you are 21 you should not be allowed to vote have sex or get married until 21 our laws about being an adult are inconsistent especially when it comes to level of important why can I make the decision on who should be the President of the United States but I’m not allowed to have a beer 18 That makes absolutely no sense. So we need to have one standard either. You’re an adult at 18 or you’re an adult at 21

[Rosexøxø]

I see..

but [ freedom of choice and free human rights ] are one thing, and completely different from the [ freedom to access toxic chemicals ], which is another thing.

It’s like you saying “oh well, all police officials should be allowed to touch dead people or don’t touch at all. Stop being inconsistent-“

but what you say as inconsistent

is really

just being specific and mindful of realities…

I. e. Only trained experts on dead bodies like detectives and forensic pathologists study and are allowed near lifeless corpses.

While lower ranked officials, or merely different officials are responsible for neutralizing threats and performing basic searches with warrant.

So you may not be able to see the correlating dots on the age ordeal, or the specifics, more so, and wish to treat age as something trivial, but in some aspects it simply is not,

and brain development is one of them.

Basic human rights, I see, as being another.

ACCESS to harmful toxins is ANOTHER- wayyyyyy on left field lol

Making decisions for the country is another.

You want to move these all into an umbrella term such as “adulthood-“

but it’s not that easy, nor that simple.

Maybe you’d like it to be so? 🤷‍♀️ So you can move on to other matters which seem more pressing, but if that’s the case, then focus on them?

and stop trying to undo these things out into place already.

Does it deliberately hinder your plans elsewhere? In government, that is?

or

does it feel inferring to your personal rights or what you had to wait for?

or is this something else altogether? 😬🤔

Now I said my piece, and I’m willing to be respectful on this. (I’m intrigued, and hope to have some takeaway), but I’d like to know (and initially was going to ask you this when I read the header of the question), what do you think/feel the legal/official/ adult age should be?

18?

or

21?

⚖️

[Rosexøxø]

While I disagree, I still like your presentation of information, and I think for many things that logic can be depended upon, it not so for this particular case/matter.

That’s just what I reason to believe.

[Stoner710]

I think every thing should be legal at 18

All I’m saying it a bigger discussion to vote then whether or not an 18 year old can have a beer. It’s a bigger discussion to get married or join the military then it is to by a pack of cigarettes. You’re an adult you can make all these life changing decisions but not have a beer which isn’t a life changing decisions. So either you’re an adult at 18 and you can buy beer buy cigarettes join the military vote get married be able to have sex or you’re an adult at 21 and be able to make these decisions. I don’t see why you should have the freedom of choice and human rights if you don’t have the freedom to get intoxicated. Both should be at the same age

[Rosexøxø]

That’s self harming… it doesn’t help physically or productively. If it causes a person to lose their ability to recall info- it’s “dumbing” them down; if it’s causing them to give up more and more self-control, then they’re just not in control of their lives 🤷‍♀️ and can ultimately overdose, or other. If they’re not being productive because they’re not even fully present or conscious then that affects the product of their lives and the affect it has on their neighboring society.

You seem to just want to be for 18 year olds getting intoxicated. Is this the case? 🤔

[Genie23]

I think most people get immature, start thinking and acting like adults in their mid 20s. However, there are some kids who starts behaving and thinking like adults in their early teenage years because of the things they went through or had to deal with... were exposed to. So, it really depends on individuals but in most cases, people become adults in their 20s.

[Anonymous]

Legally, individuals are considered adults at 18 in most countries, including the United States. This means that they are able to vote, join the military, and make other important decisions. However, as you mentioned, there are certain age restrictions for activities such as drinking alcohol, smoking cigarettes or weed, and gambling, which vary by state or country.

It's important to note that these age restrictions are in place for a variety of reasons, including public health and safety concerns. For example, the age limit for buying cigarettes or alcohol is intended to prevent underage drinking and smoking, which can have negative health consequences. Similarly, the age limit for buying a gun is intended to prevent gun violence and keep people safe.

Ultimately, the decision to set an age limit for certain activities is a complex one, and takes into account a variety of factors. While it may seem inconsistent to some, it's important to remember that laws and regulations are intended to promote the common good and protect public health and safety.

[Rosexøxø]

Oh we said the same thing, essentially. Thanks for your share. I appreciate how well-described it is

[Opinion Owner]

@Rosexøxø you’re very welcome

[NathanDavis]

being of age does not guarantee you're indeed mature, responsible or a grown-up...

I've made many and very important decisions before the age of 16... and yet, I've also made stupid/immature decisions/actions way into my 20's

you cannot see of all of these situations under the same scope... they're all different things that do need different approaches as well

[monorprise]

After 25 you tend to make fewer poor irresponsible choices, thou you wisely had far more to make.

[NathanDavis]

@monorprise 25 of age... that's when the brain has fully developed

[monorprise]

@NathanDavis
If the definition of adulthood is when you finish developing then 25 is a good number, although one could argue for women its whenever they have a baby or 25 which ever is later.

[NathanDavis]

@monorprise parenthood does not make you an adult

[monorprise]

@NathanDavis
Not by itself, but it is important part of a woman's physical and mental development.

[NathanDavis]

@monorprise not mandatory though

nor the one solely factor

[monorprise]

@NathanDavis
Seeing as a woman's body never finishes development until she has a child, it in a way for her to reach the peak of physical maturity, defining adulthood, she needs to have a child.

[NathanDavis]

@monorprise let me guess...

you also believe that they should not pursue careers or have a job

breed babies and excel at the kitchen... or they will never be truly happy... right?

[monorprise]

@NathanDavis
You seem to be departing from the question before us into speculation about the messenger rather than the message as if that was somehow relevant.

The question: " What does it mean to be an adult?"
I would assert that it means to be fully developed physically. Girls don't finish developing until they go thou a pregnancy with their first baby.

Its a simple biological fact.

You can make a more complex definition with "special" exceptions for first and last branch of any tree of life not to be so developed, but i think its perfectly fair.

[NathanDavis]

@monorprise you seem to believe that only because you're biased, nothing else...

when you reduce the concept/perception of adulthood to a mere physiological factor, you leave out social and cultural ones... which is just inadequate

and then you bring up biology into it... as if only biology had a word to say about it, and you're still wrong, it just does not compute

no woman has to be fully developed in order to give birth... their bodies, brains, psiques, physiology could go through pregnancy and give birth successfully even!! if they are not fully developed and not fully mature yet, and then, they would still be underdeveloped in these areas if they gave birth to such young ages...

so no, giving birth does not mean completion and does not equal maturity at all, not even biologically

and it would be as ridiculous as to say that a man is never a man, unless he got a female pregnant and she delivered to completion... lol

[monorprise]

@NathanDavis
Did I not just tell you I would agree there could be other qualification as well. Althou that definition would be inconsistent with the use of the term for most other species of animals.

Regardless if we are to make a human culturally spesfic definition then it must added onto the basic definition for all other life of which we humans are a member.

We cannot declare a kitten a cat simply because you feel it is independent or acting mature.

As for the fact that a woman who is not physically mature in all other areas is capable of going thou pregnancy, you seem to be erroneously assuming the path to physical maturity is linear with pregnancy being the end.

This is not what I was saying as should have been obvious with the original statement of 25 (for the brain, the slowest organ in the human body) or pregnancy (to compete the female body) for women.

[NathanDavis]

@monorprise kittens are cats, yes...

kittens can be queens as well

[monorprise]

@NathanDavis
When I said cat i was referring to the adult version of the species as distinguished from its child version kitten.
I really dont see where your going with the social/political classification.

[NathanDavis]

@monorprise we're not mere animals...

and women are not just breeding females

[monorprise]

@NathanDavis

We are animals, intelligent animals but animals nonetheless. Also technically both men and women as animals either breed or they cease to exist that is part of the definition of life.

To assume we have somehow 'evolved' beyond that point is the Darwin award deserving delusions of a lunatic.

[NathanDavis]

@monorprise are you a father yet, or married? divorced?

[inhua]

can immaturity be used as an excuse if an 18 year old murders someone in cold blood?

[NathanDavis]

@inhua immaturity, irresponsibility or impulsivity can all be argued in court...

whether is accepted or not by a juvenile court/adult system of justice, judge or jury... depends on many other circumstances

[NathanDavis]

@inhua I mean... even something like "affluenza" has been successful before, and "kids" did avoid prison after killing or raping because "they were too privileged to understand consequences, therefore not guilty"

[inhua]

@NathanDavis if you were the judge or jury would you accept immaturity as a reason for murder?

[NathanDavis]

@inhua most likely, not

[monorprise]

@NathanDavis Again you seek to talk to the Messenger rather than the message. You really do need to treat a suggest for its merits where it came form does not matter.

You are not being asked to trust me, or evaluate my inclinations but rather the ideas put forth.

Even still my profile should tell you the answer to some of those besides the point questions, i see you didn't even go so far as to even look before asking. Let alone Look up the definitions and think about the implications.

[NathanDavis]

@monorprise ironic...

have you not realized your profile is private?

did you not as far as to check that little fact before suggesting I should just look at the profile that is not public information... lol

so, anyway... are you married? kids, divorced?

[monorprise]

@NathanDavis
I was aware that it was private i was not aware that it would keep you from seeing I was married.

[NathanDavis]

@monorprise so, again...

are you sir a father with children?

or are you still a 40 year old boy... that has not fully developed as an adult grown-up man?

[monorprise]

@NathanDavis
I am very much against sharing such information online in a discussion in which it has no relevance. The last thing I would want is people who can't tolerate my opinion having more information to identify me. Knowing if i am among the minority ever smaller share that has children tells such nasty people 2 very important things to help them.

The fact is both pieces of personal information as well as the fact that I am married are entirely ill-relevent.

There are 4 possibility:
1: If i was in fact childless you might assume I am underdeveloped although not being a woman there would be no physical evidence or changes resulting from this fact.

2: If I did have children you might assume I am fully developed, although again not being a woman there would be no physical evidence or change of this fact.

3: If I really was a woman and childless then you could certantly count me as underdeveloped physically and people perhaps a hundred years from now would be able to tell from my bones if I died that way.

4: If I really was a woman and had children you could just as much count me as developed and likewise people would be able to tell both now from changes in my brain and breasts as well as my bone and various other structures thou out my body having a measurable effect on me.

None of theses possibility would change at all the meaning of what I have said to you, I am myself irrelevant to the ideas and concept's presented. You don't need any credentials from me to give you theses ideas. They either stand and fall on their own merits independent of me or they really are not worthy.

[NathanDavis]

@monorprise so... you're still a 40 year old adolescent

got it

[monorprise]

@NathanDavis
if you want to believe that, your welcome it changes nothing about the idea. I am willing to confirm that it is not true.

[inhua]

whenever a criminal can be trialed as an adult for committing crimes like murder

[Sevenpointfive]

i think it's more like 23 for most people. we think we're adults once we hit puberty

[Anonymous]

I would say 25 but some people never grow up.

[riverrat3]

Closer to about 25 really

[Cubus]

At 18

[monorprise]

The 'federal' goverment only says that so its armed wing can recruit people still young and immature enough to be willing to charge machine gun nest for their political agenda.