+61 Adulthood should actually be considered at age 25+, amirite?

by Lednerderek 2 months ago

Well, it's a myth in that it keeps developing even past the age of 25. It's a fact that an 18-year-old brain is far less developed than a 25-year-old brain

by Anonymous 2 months ago

Who cares? The point is that everyone is different and brains develop at different rates. Some people are essentially adults at a younger age and others at an older age. There's no magic number and moving it up arbitrarily is just infantilizing people. Imagine if you are 23, employed, married, and have a kid, and suddenly you are no longer legally an adult. How would that make any sense?

by SpecialistMuted 2 months ago

No I agree with you, but calling it a myth is very misleading, when in the context of the OPs argument, it's a valid argument. It's a fact that no one's brain is fully developed at 18.

by Anonymous 2 months ago

Thank you. I hate that this myth has perpetuated because people have arbitrarily decided that you can't really consent to anything until you are 25 when the reality of it is a lot more complex than that.

by SpecialistMuted 2 months ago

The idea that the brain isn't fully developed until around 25 is not some urban legend. It's backed by neuroscience, and the people who really understand risk—the insurance companies—have the actuarial tables to prove it. Here's the thing: insurance companies live and die by data. They aren't throwing darts at a chart when they price policies for young adults. If the "brain not fully developed" idea were just a fairy tale, wouldn't they be handing out cheap car insurance to 18-year-olds like candy? But no. Premiums for young drivers are high, and guess when they start to level out? Yep—around age 25. Why? Because actuarial tables show that the likelihood of risky behavior—speeding, texting while driving, general impulsiveness—plummets as people's brains finish wiring up.

by Odd-Argument-5139 2 months ago

Source?

by Anonymous 2 months ago

That article only supports the notion that the brain changes.

by Lednerderek 2 months ago

It supports the notion that the brain develops at different rates for different people, so while some people may not feel like an adult by the time they are 25+, others certainly do, and arbitrarily changing the age of adulthood to 25 is dumb.

by SpecialistMuted 2 months ago

I searched and only found sites disagreeing with him.

by Anonymous 2 months ago

Lol. I do agree that 18 is a bit young. But adulthood at 25 is crazy lmao. How about 20? I feel that's more appropriate BC I'm 20 and I feel more like an adult now than I did at 18.

by Commercial-Skin 2 months ago

And you'll feel more of an adult at 25 than you did at 20.

by Maxinearmstrong 2 months ago

I'll just feel old. I'll feel nostalgic to the times I used to watch cartoons without a worry in the world. I feel that way now. I worry about building a career and focusing on my relationship. I worry about building myself more as a person. These weren't things I worried about at 15 16 that much. At 25 I'll be worried that I'm finally getting older and older lol. We all experience things as we age. Appropriate to our age. All those experiences help us grow as a person. I feel just BC some ppl have difficulty becoming adults at 20 or 21 or 22 or 23 or 24 doesn't mean everyone else should be considered adults at 25. Or that the ppl who face issues at those ages shouldn't be considered adults. It takes away responsibility and accountability from them to act appropriately.

by Commercial-Skin 2 months ago

This is too real at 5am on little sleep

by Maxinearmstrong 2 months ago

I generally consider people adults at around 25. At 20 you're definitely still in the young adult phase of life.

by Silly-Rope7555 2 months ago

it doesn't mean you aren't an adult. I'm definitely not a child. I'm definitely not a teenager anymore. I'm young and an adult. At 25 and onwards I'll be old and an adult lol.

by Commercial-Skin 2 months ago

100% you're still quite vulnerable between 18-25.

by Lednerderek 2 months ago

Vulnerable to what? You do realize that you have to actually experience things to become experienced. Adult at 18 is totally fine.

by No-Manufacturer-174 2 months ago

Exactly.

by Commercial-Skin 2 months ago

Lol that doesn't mean you aren't an adult. lmao.what happens magically at 25 that you suddenly become an adult? I believe 18 shouldn't be adulthood BC it's still quite young but 20 onwards you truly start to become more responsible and face more things. Now whether you develop mentally and mature that's on you as an individual.

by Commercial-Skin 2 months ago

Convenient that your current age is the age that you believe people suddenly become mature somehow

by Anonymous 2 months ago

Ok grok

by Anonymous 2 months ago

This is alright, I suppose, until you end up doing a swan dive into saying some children are mature 🤮

by Anonymous 2 months ago

Today, more like 30

by Other_Escape 2 months ago

Feels kinda unfair to expect adult decision making from someone under 25, since that's when your brain actually finishes developing. Counter to that though, we also don't want to infantilise people. It's a bit of a balancing act for sure.

by Ari63 2 months ago

Tbh it's more like infantilizing youth and not really letting them have independence would absolutely be a catastrophe since now you're just trying to prove to a bunch of increasingly independent folks that they're not truly ready for the real world.

by Anonymous 2 months ago

Definitely 20-30 is the young adulthood Adulthood starts at 30 definitely

by Anonymous 2 months ago

More like 40. No wait more like 45

by Anonymous 2 months ago

Nah adulthood starts only after death

by Vdeckow 2 months ago

What do you mean by 'adult'? Generally speaking an 18 year old is considered a young adult by society, which has different implications than an adult. We assume they're going to school, or taking some kind of educational training. They're still on their parents health insurance, etc.

by Silly-Rope7555 2 months ago

I agree but then we'd need to raise the drinking an driving ages and all the rest.

by Wiegandrahsaan 2 months ago

I think people read too much into what these brain studies mean. Yes, the prefrontal cortex isn't fully "developed" until age 25, depending on what you mean by that because your brain is constantly changing throughout your life. That doesn't mean you aren't an adult. Your reaction time also peaks at about age 25; that doesn't mean you are incapable of driving a car by 30 (and that's a measurable test of "skills" not an image on an MRI, unlike the prefrontal cortex scans). Brains change as you age but we can't say this means much about maturity or even practical skills. Twenty-five (or 24) year-old are not children. Delaying adulthood into the mid-20s at a minimum would have further negative affects on families, children (and the ability to have them), economic and social systems, and, I'd venture, the mental health of the young adult person. I can't imagine living with my parents and treated like a high schooler until I was 25.

by haley87 2 months ago

I agree in that I wouldn't consider people under the age of 25 proper adults. Hell, I barely feel like that at the age of 30, but that's ultimately meaningless because those legal age limits should still stay at 18. No matter where you place the legal limit of adulthood, it's arbitrary, and 18 is perfectly fine for that.

by Anonymous 2 months ago

The reason why people are developed by the time they are 25 is because they are given the chance to develop starting from 18 years old. I can agree changing it to 20. But not 25.

by Anonymous 2 months ago

I agree wholeheartedly

by Anonymous 2 months ago

I'm surprised that this question about a more or less arbitrary number is discussed under the banner of cognitive sciences when it's more a question for sociology and history. Obviously different times have a different understanding of old age and young age. I don't know if 25 is the right age or not. In Italy for example many 30 year olds live with their parents because of the said housing crisis. Are they adults or not?

by Anonymous 2 months ago

or society could just lower its expectations for people in their early 20's, that would probably solve a lot of issues, rather than putting 24 year olds in the same category as CHILDREN.

by Anonymous 2 months ago

We have this discussion all the time Yes 18yr olds are stupid and immature they're still adults who can make choices. They're old enough to find themselves and be independent yes they make dumb choices but so do other adults. You can acknowledge young adults are immature without saying they should lose their independence

by Botsfordrahul 2 months ago

In order to become an adult, you need to be treated like one and have the responsibility of one. It is reasonable to give 18 year olds that gravitas in order for them to grow into fully fledged adults. People will get to that point in their own time and I know 45 year olds who still act like teenagers but in life, you need sink or swim moments.

by Anonymous 2 months ago

That is just not biologicaly possible I think. Our species evolved with avarage life expectancy 35. By 25 people ussualy had several children. There is no way any law would keep me from being an adult till 25. 18 was pushing it. If anything we need to make sure young people are able to mature quicker.

by Anonymous 2 months ago

This is a massive misconception born from horrific infant death rates. People who survived childhood regularly lived to be 60+. 18 was chosen because you're largely done developing. Not because of the life expectancy in the middle ages...

by Anonymous 2 months ago

I am talking about like thousands of years ago not about middle ages.

by Anonymous 2 months ago

16y old can commit as violent crimes as 30yrs old, soooo.... Also, what about sex? You want to tell 22yrs old people they can't have sex cause they're not adults?

by Anonymous 2 months ago

Kids are allowed to have sex in most places.

by Silly-Rope7555 2 months ago

And yet they do, and somehow the world still moves on.

by No-Manufacturer-174 2 months ago

Just so you know, people under the age of 18 are perfectly legally allowed to have sex too. The 18 year age limit is there to protect them from adults.

by Anonymous 2 months ago

This is a very popular opinion and a very fascist one at that.

by Anonymous 2 months ago

Valid. Voting shouldn't even be a thing for impressionable college age kids.

by johan95 2 months ago

50 for people who make video games and/or anime their entire personality.

by titusgreenfelde 2 months ago