Sammy56
Jul 10th, 2006, 1:44 AM
Today, society generally sees teenagers as the stereotypical rebellious lawbreaker who brings nothing but trouble. Teenagers are often seen as to immature and/or irresponsible to make their own decisions and therefore an "adult" must do it for them. Some adults feel that teenagers and young adults are nothing but bigger children and use this position to dismiss their thoughts, opinions, or feelings as irrelevant because they are not adults and therefore, these thoughts, opinions, and feelings don't matter. This raises quite a few questions.
1. Most countries, for legal reasons, consider someone an adult if they are over 18, but it doesn't make since that one day a person can be a child, and the next, an adult. Psychologically, it a process taking place in the brain. So, what makes someone an adult?
2. Some countries also hold restrictions on 18 year olds, even though, legally, they have reached adulthood. An example is, at least here in the United States, you cannot purchase alcohol (legally) until you are 21. Why? An 18, 19, or 20 year old is an adult, meaning, once again legally, that they are responsible for themselves. Why continue the restrictions?
3. Many cities/states/countries have rules in place targeted directly at teenagers. These laws, inspired by a few under-age wrongdoers, are implemented onto every teenager, regardless of their record. That is rarely, if ever, done in the adult world on such a large scale. Curfew is probably the most common example. Are rules such as this justified, or is it actually a type of age discrimination?
4. Teenagers are not in charge of their own medical decisions until they are 18. I believe the only exception is pregnancy and whether to have an abortion. It is their body, so why is the decision left to the parents, who may or may not have their child's best interests in mind?
5. Teenagers are denied rights that adults have. Freedom of speech could be considered denied when a school principle has to agree to the content of a student written newspaper. School administration is allowed to search through a student's personal belongings without a reason and without notifying the student or their parents. Some activists even go so far as to say that the voting age should be lowered to 16 in the United States. These restrictions, put onto any other group of people, would be condemned as discrimination, but it is almost universally accepted when done to those not considered adults. Should it be?
Basically, are teenagers and young adults being treated unfairly by society?
These are some of the questions that came up in a discussion not long ago in school. I thought it would be a good thread here since there is much diversity age-wise on this board.
1. Most countries, for legal reasons, consider someone an adult if they are over 18, but it doesn't make since that one day a person can be a child, and the next, an adult. Psychologically, it a process taking place in the brain. So, what makes someone an adult?
2. Some countries also hold restrictions on 18 year olds, even though, legally, they have reached adulthood. An example is, at least here in the United States, you cannot purchase alcohol (legally) until you are 21. Why? An 18, 19, or 20 year old is an adult, meaning, once again legally, that they are responsible for themselves. Why continue the restrictions?
3. Many cities/states/countries have rules in place targeted directly at teenagers. These laws, inspired by a few under-age wrongdoers, are implemented onto every teenager, regardless of their record. That is rarely, if ever, done in the adult world on such a large scale. Curfew is probably the most common example. Are rules such as this justified, or is it actually a type of age discrimination?
4. Teenagers are not in charge of their own medical decisions until they are 18. I believe the only exception is pregnancy and whether to have an abortion. It is their body, so why is the decision left to the parents, who may or may not have their child's best interests in mind?
5. Teenagers are denied rights that adults have. Freedom of speech could be considered denied when a school principle has to agree to the content of a student written newspaper. School administration is allowed to search through a student's personal belongings without a reason and without notifying the student or their parents. Some activists even go so far as to say that the voting age should be lowered to 16 in the United States. These restrictions, put onto any other group of people, would be condemned as discrimination, but it is almost universally accepted when done to those not considered adults. Should it be?
Basically, are teenagers and young adults being treated unfairly by society?
These are some of the questions that came up in a discussion not long ago in school. I thought it would be a good thread here since there is much diversity age-wise on this board.