In an age where the world is constantly changing and the challenges of society are increasing, it's only fair to reevaluate the age that determines when your childhood ends and your adulthood begins. Legal adult age should be increased to increase brain development and maturity, protect them from the legal system, and provide youth and transitioning teens with the appropriate time to be best prepared for the real world and the responsibilities of an adult. Raising the legal age is imperative for enhancing brain development in youth, allowing them to have more maturity and thinking skills before adulthood. Raising the legal age isn't for something as petty as restricting freedom, but more of a conscious approach to providing healthier and better …show more content…
Adolescence is a key time in your life where you have to figure out who you are, who you want to be, where you are going, and how you're going to get there. While facing all these challenges, life is speeding up, and it's like being in front of a moving train and having a split second to decide whether to jump out of the way or drag your feet. Add that to the responsibilities and emotions you have to deal with while being pushed into a world you've only seen glimpses of through your parents. Raising the legal age would allow teens to ease into adulthood and help develop skills like problem solving, financial literacy, interpersonal communication, and others that are needed to survive in the business world or even a successful relationship. Not only does it give teens more time to figure out who they are, but it also gives them time to fully develop into who they are instead of being thrust into a dangerous and ever-changing world. Social constraints only become a thing to protect the youth as well as put them in a better position to succeed. During the industrial revolution, kids were put in poor circumstances to work and put in situations where they couldn't succeed, so people came together to fight for their rights. So what's stopping us from coming together and fighting for our teens rights so they can be successful? In conclusion, raising the legal age serves to benefit the youth in a multitude of ways, such as allowing them to gain life skills to help them navigate throughout the world, as well as giving them time to fully mature and have the capacity to make appropriate decisions that could forever affect their lives. As well as protecting the youth from the criminal justice system and avoiding unnecessary contact with the system to prevent harm to the youth in these trying
In this article Aguirre talks about the possible benefits of having a raised minimum legal drinking age. She talks about the fact that lowering the drinking age would create a safer venue for young adults to drink. She also says that a lowered drinking age would limit the amount of binge drinking, which would also limit the amounts of deaths caused by binge
Lowering the legal drinking age would create problems such as infringing on the mental and physical development of the young drinker. As a respected author, Matt Nagin puts it, “The late teens and early twenties are formative years where character building, leadership in the community, and scholastic excellence should be emphasized. Alcohol detracts from all of these.” In other words, Nagin believes that the teen years are an imperative time of growth in a person’s life. Scientists have proven that the brain is not fully developed until the age of twenty five. If Nagin’s argument is correct, and I believe it is, then people should understand that scientists have proven the negative affects that alcohol has on the development of the brain. Alcohol has the power to kill brain cells and damage growth hormones. By making alcohol legally accessible to an eighteen year old, we are literally poisoning his or her brain.
The age of responsibility could not make sense at 18 because of all the rights and responsibilities that are given at age 18 such as financial decisions and college and moving out of the house, but their are still so many things that 18 year olds cannot do such as they still can't rent cars or drink alcohol. “...lowering the legal limit to 18 would only be pushing the drinking problem down to 16-17 year old.” (Wagenaar 17). According to Alexander Wagenaar in Greenblatt’s article lowering the age down to 18 would make drinking a big problem for younger teenagers that are 16 and 17. This could make an even bigger problem in high school because people may say that they are close to the age and they may feel more responsible even though they are not. Therefore, it would not make sense to have 18 be the legal
This issue hit home for me because it puts many people at risk for things such as car accidents, binge drinking, alcoholism, depression, suicide, and rape, things no one should ever experience, let alone in middle or high school. These reasons are why the legal age to purchase, and consume alcohol should remain at 21 years of age.
I suppose I believed some sort of freedom would be granted to me just because I turned another year older, however that was not the case. I did not gain any more freedom. By law I am legally an adult, but to my parents and society I am still just a kid. The more I think about it the more I realize I still am just a child; I just want to deny it most of the time. On the other hand, people set a precedent that children are ignorant and naïve. Therefore, opportunities to prove otherwise are nonexistent. A controversial topic pertaining age could be the legal drinking age. People who are for lowering the age limit to 18 have the argument, adults who are 18 can risk their lives at war in the military yet that can’t have a drink. Verses, the people who say 18 year olds are still not fully developed into making decisions, let alone under the influence. I can see both sides argument and agree with both, but I lean toward if people are willing to risk their lives at war they should be able to have a beer. I believe that age limits and alters people’s views on them. Growing up is about messing up with everything and learning from those mistakes, and people should not judge or limit others possibilities because they forget that they were once young
If the drinking age was lowered to eighteen years old it will promote and cause society in general to learn the responsibilities and long term effects of drinking in moderation. the eighteen to twenty years old age groups are the most known and looked at to have issues with drinking in moderation, but if the legal drinking age was decreased it wouldn't be so much of a problem. “Lowering the drinking age would allow people to get used to drinking in moderation. this would allow the to learn to drink responsibly and lead to less alcohol related incidents in the future.” Once young adults begin having the freedom to drink it become less of a big deal. “it would make drinking alcohol less f a taboo” and more of a learning experience (Anthony Buratti pg. 1). In countries such as France, Portugal, and Spain alcohol consumption is started at a very young age yet there is little to no evidence that it is harmful to the eighteen to twenty age groups (Jessica Pauline pg. 2). Attempting to prevent the eighteen to twenty age groups will only provoke them to do it more and unsupervised therefore possibly harming themselves with dangerous consequences (Underage Drinking pg. 18). Exposing them to alcohol will allow them to gai...
A major reason behind teenagers drinking is because of the thrills that it entails. Not only does it give teenagers the feeling of being drunk, but it also give them the thrill of breaking the law. According to Ruth Engs, drinking by teenagers is seen as a “forbidden fruit, a badge of rebellion against authority and a symbol of adulthood.” (Why the Drinking Age Should Be Lowered) ProCon.org says that if America changed the drinking age back to 18, then drinking for these youths would become more of a normal activity. They wouldn’t hide it from their parents or law officers, so they would be less prone to injuries or deaths. Then they would be under proper adult supervision, and at a place where they can learn how to drink responsibly (Drinking Age).
When it comes to the discussion over lowering the legal drinking age to eighteen, people express various different ideas and beliefs concerning the issue. Some believe that the drinking age for alcohol should be lowered and others believe that it should stay the same. Those that do believe lowering the drinking age is the best route to take, do have valid points. However, there are others who argue that changing the law will not change things for the better. In the end, one could feel that lowering the drinking age to eighteen could actually show signs of promise in equality for all American adults. Changing this law could decrease the tendency of young adults to break the law, and could train them to have more self-control.
...e minimum legal drinking age in the United States should remain at twenty-one years old. Since the National Legal Drinking Age Act was ratified, the consumption of liquor among minors has abated significantly. With the restriction in affect, the United States is definitely a safer place when it comes to alcohol use. Even though, the reduction of the drinking age would get rid of the taboo that surrounds alcohol which would result in fewer teens drinking just to be accepted by their peers, young adolescents now have a harder time getting access to alcohol due to the minimum legal drinking age resulting in less alcohol-affiliated problems and a decrease in damage to their bodies. Teens and alcohol are not a good mix so citizens of the United States should keep them separated as best as they can. By having a minimum age limit of twenty-one, that is a great way to do it.
The age restriction makes underage drinking cool (violating rules) and makes teenagers more likely to do it. This is the “forbidden fruit” theory. Lowering the legal drinking age from 21 to 18 would diminish the thrill of breaking the law to get a drink. Normalizing alcohol consumption as something done responsibly in moderation will make drinking alcohol less of a thrill for young adults entering college and the workforce. Removing the age restriction would no longer make drinking cool. This is nothing more than a slippery slope. There is no evidence that drinking early will stop others from drinking at a later age. In fact, drinking early could become a habit for most teens. “People who have their first drink at age 14 or younger are six times more likely to develop alcohol problems than those who don’t try alcohol until the legal drinking age”
Upon turning eighteen you are considered to be legal adult and receive all of the responsibilities that accompany the title. At the age of eighteen year olds you receive and are expected to use the rights and responsibilities to vote, serve on juries, get married, sign contracts, join the military--which includes taking on the responsibilities of life and death--and be prosecuted as an adults in the court of law along with many other things. In 1984, the national government raised the drinking age from 18 to 21. Mothers Against Drunk Driving was a key contributing organization that influenced the change in the minimum drinking age. While there are arguments for both sides, it is said that if the national minimum legal drinking age is dropped back to eighteen many lives would be saved, colleges will have better retention as well as turn out rates of high school graduates, and it could repeal or alter a counterproductive law. The minimum legal drinking age should be lowered back down to the age of eighteen and those who wish to drink should be required to take classes to attain a drinking license upon completing the class in a satisfactory manner.
If they lowered the drinking age to 18, there would be a lot fewer problems related to alcohol. Lowering the drinking age would take away the excitement of teens drinking. People who are under the age and drink see drinking as a rebellious act. Under age teens will drink less than they did before since the thrill of is gone. They will not drink as much as they would before because they know that drinking can occur more often and will not binge drink. Under age teens binge drink because they do not know when they will have the opportunity to drink again. When high school graduates go to college, they must drink secretly, and only ...
As stated before an argument frequently used when concerning lowering the drinking age is as a legal adult at age 18, one should be allowed to consume alcohol. However, the consumption of alcohol is a privilege not a right and due to the dangers posed by irresponsible drinking the age one should be allowed to drink should be higher. Just because one is considered an “adult” does not mean they posses the responsibility to drink legally. There are many rights in the United States that have a high age of initiation besides just consuming alcohol. “A person ...
The opinions of some people for changing the legal drinking age would agree to change the legal drinking age to 18, the same as the legal voting age, where as there would be opposing people. Both sides have equal arguments, but keeping the age at 21 would be a more intelligent decision considering the health and death issues for minor drinkers. Although drinking is a very interesting and calling thing for minors to do, its consequences could affect not just that person, but if occurring in death, affecting the empty hole created in someone’s life you have once impacted.
In addition to teenagers gaining independence and freedom with a license, parents also gain more freedom as well. Teenagers who cannot drive rely heavily on parents, siblings, and other people to chauffeur them around. Not only does this cost more for the driver, but schedule arrangements must constantly be made and even cancelled in order to drive teenagers to where needed.... ... middle of paper ... ... Deciding to raise the age does not seem like a prime choice, because not only does the argument include age as a factor, but it greatly affects the lives of everyday people.