The other thread about a proposal to lower the voting age (Do You Support Lowering The Federal Election Age to 16?) got me to thinking about the general topic. I didn't want to derail that thread by going off-topic, so I'm starting a new one about this.
I think most people generally accept 18 as the age one officially becomes an "adult," except when it comes to drinking alcohol (and possibly the freedom to marry without parental permission, in some states).
On the other hand, when it comes to things like movie tickets and other such places which have different prices for "child" and "adult," the age is often much lower, with 12 being the most common that I've seen. I never could understand that.
I realize it's not the same in every culture throughout history. I can't recall offhand, but there might be places where 12 or 13 would be considered an adult. If I'm not mistaken, boys in Ancient Rome became men at age 15. Other cultures might have various rites of passage from youth to adulthood.
Looking back at my grandparents' generation, both of my grandfathers dropped out of school and were working by about age 14. My maternal grandfather ran away from home and got a job on an oil tanker sailing out of Texas. Their generation had to mature and grow up rather quickly, despite their age.
But nowadays, it's a lot different, and a lot of 20- and 30-somethings are moving back in with their parents (More millennials are moving back home - and it’s making everyone depressed, studies find | Daily Mail Online). Are today's generations less mature than they were 100 years ago?
These are just some random thoughts I had, but I was just wondering what others think about this topic.
I think most people generally accept 18 as the age one officially becomes an "adult," except when it comes to drinking alcohol (and possibly the freedom to marry without parental permission, in some states).
On the other hand, when it comes to things like movie tickets and other such places which have different prices for "child" and "adult," the age is often much lower, with 12 being the most common that I've seen. I never could understand that.
I realize it's not the same in every culture throughout history. I can't recall offhand, but there might be places where 12 or 13 would be considered an adult. If I'm not mistaken, boys in Ancient Rome became men at age 15. Other cultures might have various rites of passage from youth to adulthood.
Looking back at my grandparents' generation, both of my grandfathers dropped out of school and were working by about age 14. My maternal grandfather ran away from home and got a job on an oil tanker sailing out of Texas. Their generation had to mature and grow up rather quickly, despite their age.
But nowadays, it's a lot different, and a lot of 20- and 30-somethings are moving back in with their parents (More millennials are moving back home - and it’s making everyone depressed, studies find | Daily Mail Online). Are today's generations less mature than they were 100 years ago?
These are just some random thoughts I had, but I was just wondering what others think about this topic.