What does it mean to be an adult in society today? Does it mean you have lived a certain number of years and no matter what choices you have made in that time span you are automatically considered an adult? Or is it based off your experiences within that span of time? A persons’ circumstances give a better understanding of his maturity level as opposed to looking solely at his or her age. In society today once you reach the age of eighteen or in some areas twenty-one, you are considered an adult and are bestowed with all the opportunities and responsibilities that come with this. Such as being able to purchase tobacco products, having to register for selective service agreement, no longer having to abide by a curfew, and if you are in high …show more content…
Technically, turning eighteen makes you legally an adult according to the government of the Unites States of America. However, when you analyze this term, there is so much more to it than that. Being an adult means you are able to support yourself not just financially, but also bodily and spiritually. What does it mean to support yourself physically though? Supporting yourself physically means you are able to take care of yourself on a day to day basis from a hygienic point of view. You bathe regularly, know how to wash clothes, clean up after yourself, are able to prepare food for yourself, and other tasks such as that. Since coming to college I have realized that it is necessary to know how to care for myself on a day to day basis because there is no one here to remind me to do it. Also, my appearance is a direct reflection of myself and my character. If I walk around smelling bad and appearing disheveled that reflects poorly on me because it appears that I do not know how to properly care for myself. That would reflect poorly on my character and would in turn hurt me financially. I would not be able to get a job because I would not appear qualified. Most adults know how to do the bare minimum at the least, as this can have an effect on the other two aspects of taking care of yourself. Personally, having a religious connection is important to me. It is not important to everyone, however to some it is the backbone of
At the age of 18 you should be considered an adult because, you are old enough to make decisions for yourself. You no longer have a curfew, which means you are responsible of making sure you are home at a decent hour. You will be expected to act like an adult, especially in the work field. People will start to look at you for promotions and higher paying jobs. You are now legal and the laws start to change for you, these laws make you more responsible as an adult and not just a minor. You have to be more cautious of what you are doing and think about how it’s affecting the law and the people
Is 18 the age when someone should be considered an adult? In the article “ How Old Is Old Enough?” Catherine Rampell simplify answers the questions from the world's point of view, she says “ The answer, generally, is 18-the age when the United
“What is the age of responsibility?” said Alan Greenblatt in his article “The Age of Responsibility.” Clearly what can be seen according to one of his lines “In America, ‘adulthood’ already has its familiar compass points, 18 and 21” (Greenblatt Par. 6) that the controversy between the milestone of adulthood and what age it should be is blatantly present in society. When Alan Greenblatt explained “...what if that age--the point when citizens are responsible enough to earn all rights [...] bear no resemblance to the ages already enshrined in law” (Par. 6) obviously what can be seen is that even though adulthood is marked between age eighteen and twenty-one, that doesn’t mean they’re responsible enough to handle them. Several factors apply to marking the milestone of adulthood, such as rites, rights, responsibilities, and overall: the age of responsibility.
When a person turn 18 in most states they are considered adults under law and have most of the same rights and responsibilities as all other American adults. Their new rights include being able to vote, gamble, buy cigarettes, acquire guns, sign contracts, view adult material, get married, make a will, make their own medical choices and much more. With these newly acquired rights comes the burden of additional responsibilities and consequences.
If 18 is considered the age of adulthood, then a person at the age of 18 should be permitted to enjoy the rights and responsibilities that becoming an adult entails, including
When you are an adult I think that it’s basically a free for all for a person to do what they want because they don’t have their parents telling them what to do. An example would be when a young adult goes to college. When you go to college, you are basically living on your own which means you need to wake yourself up for classes, make your own food, and have a steady job so you have money to buy groceries or other things you need for school.
Next, American’s are able to sue or to be sued, open a bank account in his or her own name, serve on a jury, leave home, and even marry or register a civil partnership. How can someone determine when a person is an adult? Someone is considered an adult when their able to make a lifelong decisions, and say what happens
Being an adult is the number one thing that children want to be: The desire to get older to do things that you want when you want and having no one say otherwise. However, what is an adult? An ambiguous term that really falls into the hands of the individual, where at Sixteen you can drive, eighteen you can vote, and twenty-one you can drink, for those in the USA, all varying ages that individuals could use as indications of adulthood. Robin Heinig wrote and article “What is it about 20- somethings?” where she discusses Arnett’s proposal about a new developmental stage, “Emerging Adulthood”. Jeffrey Jensen Arnett, an American professor in psychology, believes that we aren 't entering adulthood till the later portions of our twenties. For some, this may be true but for the general population including myself I find this hard to believe. Leo Hendry’s article, “How universal is emerging adulthood? An empirical example”, on emerging adulthood gives a deeper understanding to what this generation 's kids are going through. The late teens are a crucial part to the lives of a young adult. It 's the time that we spend trying to identify ourselves, escape the circumstance that we are put into at a younger age, or just had a better family income. Arnett is not wrong, but all other external factors need to be accounted for before we know, or even consider if emerging adulthood is a new developmental stage.
At the age of 18 one is no longer considered an adolescent. At the age of 18 one has the right to vote. At the age of 18 one has the right to enlist in the military. At the age of 18 one may be called to serve jury duty. At the age of 18 one has the privilege to sign papers without parental consent. At the age of 18 one is considered an adult. But not completely. At the age of 18 one still cannot purchase or consume alcohol legally in the US. Lowering the national drinking age in the US will normalize alcohol by eliminating the thrill of breaking the law, decrease unsafe drinking activity, and will allow one to fully become an adult.
The article "Betwixt and Bewildered: Scholars are Intrigued by the Angst of "Emerging Adults" by Lynn Smith discusses a societal trend towards young adults (18-25) who are struggling to achieve the traditional markers of adulthood. The article covers some of the scholarly debate of the subject, wherein some researchers accept the phenomenon, others reject it, and between them they find little in the way of clear definition of the problem and its ramifications.
There are many factors that constitute being an adult. An adult is much more than turning the age of 18. The definition in the dictionary states an adult means being completely grown: fully developed and mature. I think there is much more that defines an adult. In the United States an adult is considered to be someone who takes responsibility of themselves and their actions. An adult has stability in their life and is able to take care of themselves physically, mentally, financially and emotionally. In other countries and cultures there definition of an adult differs.
In every state, eighteen-year olds are legally permitted to drive, live as they choose, and work where they choose. Eighteen-year olds pay taxes as other adults do, are subject to all criminal and civil laws, and are punished, jailed and even executed for crimes they might commit against such laws. They are also permitted to hold most local, state and federal government public offices, and can sponsor and pass new laws if elected. Again, the only exception to complete adult
What does it mean to be an adult? Does accountability make a person an adult? Does learning and improving on past experiences make someone an adult? Will caring for one’s self make somebody an adult? These are all small pieces to the puzzle but there is more to an adult then being a self-reliant, hardworking individual that pays their bills on time. In my opinion, you can be sixteen years old and be classified as an adult or twenty eight years old and not be an adult. Being an adult means that you are responsible, mature, and independent.
There are four definitions of the term adult: biological, legal, social, and psychological. The biological definition of an adult is the age in which people can reproduce. The legal definition of an adult is when a person is able to vote, get a driver’s license, marry without consent, etc. The social definition of an adult is the age at which people start performing adult roles in society, such as a full time worker, spouse, parent, or voting citizen. The psychological definition, the most obscure definition, is when a person arrives at a self-concept and become responsible for their life (Knowles, Holton & Swanson, 2012). The ages in which one could be considered an adult is very broad with these definitions; however, every soldier meets at least three of the four definitions.
When asked the question “When do you become an adult?” many people would give an age but in reality the answer isn’t that easy. To me adulthood is when you are able and willing to accept responsibility. If you cannot or will not be responsible, you have no right calling yourself an adult. What does make you a grown-up? Is it moving out of the house? Hitting a certain age? Having a relationship? Getting a job?” How is it that we can do. those things, that we consider to be “adult”, but we still feel like kids? Or that we feel like grown-ups, we're certainly old enough, but we haven't. seemed to have accomplished any of those things “grown-ups” have done? People never seem to quite understand the meaning of being an adult.” It has always seemed to me that age is irrelevant. You can be 12 and understand things better than a 30-year-old or you can be 40, have two PhD’s and still wonder if pigeons are migratory birds”.” Many people my age think that getting out of