Why does turning 18 suddenly make you a adult

you gotta start somewhere

Reply 2

Studentboy783

OP

Original post by Agent007

you gotta start somewhere

But why is it all down to the second you turn 18. I mean your bombarded with all these new responsibilities in one go

Reply 3

Original post by Studentboy783

But why is it all down to the second you turn 18. I mean your bombarded with all these new responsibilities in one go

when else can you start then?

Reply 4

It's****ingWOODY

20

It has to be quantifiable in some way or another.

Reply 5

Studentboy783

OP

Original post by Agent007

when else can you start then?

Add the responsibilities at a certain age but don’t give them all at one age. Similar to America at 16 you can drive, 18 your a legal adult and 21 you can drink

Reply 6

Doones

Original post by Studentboy783

I don’t get how the second you turn 18 your a adult and your more responsible. I mean say you turned 18 at 1:15am. It’s 1:00am and your still a kid. But after 15 minutes your automatically responsible. I don’t get it your life literally changed in less than a minute

Because legally you become an adult. You can sign a contract. You can vote. You can serve on a jury. You can make a will.

Oh, and you can leave home.

(In England.)

Reply 7

Original post by Studentboy783

Add the responsibilities at a certain age but don’t give them all at one age. Similar to America at 16 you can drive, 18 your a legal adult and 21 you can drink

Cos in the UK once you an adult, you can do what you like and have full responsibilities. In the US not allowing people to drink until they are 21 is basically like saying "You are an adult, but we don't trust you to be an adult so you can't do all adult things" which is dumb in my opinion. Once you are a legal adult you should be able to have total control of your actions, which is what the UK does.

Was talking about this with my friend the other day actually, imo america should either change the drinking age to 18 or the legal adult age to 21. To me it doesn't make sense to be an adult legally but not being allowed to drink.

Reply 8

TheMcSame

19

Original post by Studentboy783

But why is it all down to the second you turn 18. I mean your bombarded with all these new responsibilities in one go

You gotta start somewhere. The problem is that if you don't spell something like that out in law, you basically say "they can do this whenever", that's pretty much how the law works. If it doesn't say you can't do something, it isn't illegal (although some things can be illegal as they are covered by blanket laws, I.E eating and driving in itself isn't illegal, but if you aren't driving safely because of it you can be done for driving without due care and attention). The whole point of it being written in law is just to be a point at which people can do something, because you can't trust the general population to be sensible, there are far too many idiots out there to let that happen.

Original post by Studentboy783

Add the responsibilities at a certain age but don’t give them all at one age. Similar to America at 16 you can drive, 18 your a legal adult and 21 you can drink

Seems very pointless to me.

Driving age in the US varies by state, it is not the same nationwide. However, a lower age can make sense, as some people would benefit from a means of transport to get to work if they leave school at 16, which is probably why 16 year olds can ride mopeds here in the UK.
And the drinking age is only 21 because a few decades ago, the US Gov threatened to remove 10% of highways funding from state governments if they didn't raise the age to 21 through the Drinking Age Act of 1984, which is still in place. Up until then, most US states had a drinking age of 19.

I should also remind you that US federal law isn't concerned with private consumption. In most states, a minor can drink alcohol in a private setting, some states don't ban it at all, and some states have family/location exceptions, but don't outright ban it. The latter being very similar to what we have here in the UK. The purchase age might be 18, but there are situations where younger people can, completely legally, drink.

(edited 5 years ago)

Reply 9

Qaz25

17

Original post by Agent007

Cos in the UK once you an adult, you can do what you like and have full responsibilities. In the US not allowing people to drink until they are 21 is basically like saying "You are an adult, but we don't trust you to be an adult so you can't do all adult things" which is dumb in my opinion. Once you are a legal adult you should be able to have total control of your actions, which is what the UK does.

Was talking about this with my friend the other day actually, imo america should either change the drinking age to 18 or the legal adult age to 21. To me it doesn't make sense to be an adult legally but not being allowed to drink.

Alcohol is the biggest bloody problem we have in the UK. Forget terrorism, the amount of deaths and serious injuries caused due to alcohol, and amount of Emergency Services time spent on it, is stupidly high. And who are the ones most likely to end up getting stupidly drunk... you guessed it, those who are younger. Being an adult should never be linked to drinking alcohol unless we have a vigorous test to determine when someone becomes mature. Kind of like a rights of passage test that many ancient cultures tended to have.

18 is basically a number plucked out of thin air. I'd be radical as a leader of a country because I'd automatically strip people of their "adult privileges" if they demonstrate a lack of maturity in their actions. That would pretty much reduce the UK adult population by a fair amount lol

Reply 10

Doones

Entertainment Forum Helper

Original post by Qaz25

Alcohol is the biggest bloody problem we have in the UK. Forget terrorism, the amount of deaths and serious injuries caused due to alcohol, and amount of Emergency Services time spent on it, is stupidly high. And who are the ones most likely to end up getting stupidly drunk... you guessed it, those who are younger. Being an adult should never be linked to drinking alcohol unless we have a vigorous test to determine when someone becomes mature. Kind of like a rights of passage test that many ancient cultures tended to have.

18 is basically a number plucked out of thin air. I'd be radical as a leader of a country because I'd automatically strip people of their "adult privileges" if they demonstrate a lack of maturity in their actions. That would pretty much reduce the UK adult population by a fair amount lol

And yet the overall alcohol death rate in the US is higher than the UK.
http://www.worldlifeexpectancy.com/cause-of-death/alcohol/by-country/

Posted from TSR Mobile

Reply 11

quasa

20

Original post by Studentboy783

I don’t get how the second you turn 18 your a adult and your more responsible. I mean say you turned 18 at 1:15am. It’s 1:00am and your still a kid. But after 15 minutes your automatically responsible. I don’t get it your life literally changed in less than a minute

https://www.bbc.com/news/health-42732442

Adolescence is now classified till 24, so in theory your still a moody teen :for another 7 years lol:

(edited 5 years ago)

Reply 12

xoxAngel_Kxox

They have to choose a point. By the time you turn 18 you will have had (or should have had, at least) enough life experiences to equip you to do all of the things being 18 enables you to do.

You should have enough knowledge to vote, and to drink responsibly (although this is something lots of people never master).

You will be educated, and at the point at which you turn 18 you should be educated enough to be classed as an adult.

I do know lots of younger people who are much more mature than many over 18s so it's not an exact science by any means, but there has to be a boundary.

Reply 13

Original post by Qaz25

Alcohol is the biggest bloody problem we have in the UK. Forget terrorism, the amount of deaths and serious injuries caused due to alcohol, and amount of Emergency Services time spent on it, is stupidly high. And who are the ones most likely to end up getting stupidly drunk... you guessed it, those who are younger. Being an adult should never be linked to drinking alcohol unless we have a vigorous test to determine when someone becomes mature. Kind of like a rights of passage test that many ancient cultures tended to have.

18 is basically a number plucked out of thin air. I'd be radical as a leader of a country because I'd automatically strip people of their "adult privileges" if they demonstrate a lack of maturity in their actions. That would pretty much reduce the UK adult population by a fair amount lol

What I was trying to get at was that it's dumb to say at 15 you can start doing this, at 18 you can start doing this, at 21 you can start doing this etc, imo it's best to have an age where you are an official adult and have to take responsibility for your actions, let it be 18, 21, 67.....
And since there is no official "Test for maturity" we are stuck with this method. Honestly if there was such thing I'd be all for it. There are some "adults" who honestly don't deserve to drink, drive or even go university imo. lol

Reply 14

Studentboy783

OP

Original post by xoxAngel_Kxox

They have to choose a point. By the time you turn 18 you will have had (or should have had, at least) enough life experiences to equip you to do all of the things being 18 enables you to do.

You should have enough knowledge to vote, and to drink responsibly (although this is something lots of people never master).

You will be educated, and at the point at which you turn 18 you should be educated enough to be classed as an adult.

I do know lots of younger people who are much more mature than many over 18s so it's not an exact science by any means, but there has to be a boundary.

How do you know how to drink responsibly when your 18 If you’ve never drunk before. You don’t know your limit if it’s your first time. Although now I’m starting to see why 18 is a point where your a adult

Reply 15

Pantera Fan Club

18

because supposedly at 18 most newly dubbed 'adults' are mature enough to make independent decisions. I'd argue otherwise.

Reply 16

6iX 9iNE

9

Original post by Studentboy783

But why is it all down to the second you turn 18. I mean your bombarded with all these new responsibilities in one go

What you are saying is BS you dont suddenly gain responsibilities.. most 18 year olds still live with their parents, their lives dont change until they move out/leave education.

Reply 17

username3527766

15

You dont suddenly gain responsibilities at 18, you gain the last few. Its the final point where you have gained all freedoms open to all adults in the uk.

At 10 years of age you become criminally responsible, so you are deemed old enough to understand right from wrong. You can be arrested and charged in the criminal courts from this point.

At 16 you can legally marry and have sex. You are old enough to pay tax and contribute to society.

At 17 you can learn to drive.

At 18 you are old enough to make decisions based on finances (mortgages, loans, credit cards) and drinking alcohol.

So 18 is the final set of responsibilities having had them introduced to you from the age of 10.

Reply 18

xoxAngel_Kxox

Original post by Studentboy783

How do you know how to drink responsibly when your 18 If you’ve never drunk before. You don’t know your limit if it’s your first time. Although now I’m starting to see why 18 is a point where your a adult

It's not about knowing your limit, it's about being able to explore it sensibly until you do.

Reply 19

username3890778