-- Posted by VALIENT at 10:37 pm on Jan. 7, 2009 I turned 18 last month, but still feel the same I did when I was 17, except I can buy tobacco and get into strip clubs. My decision making skills haven't improved and I still laugh at my own farts. Even though I'm suddenly an adult, not by choice, I get all these privileges to do exotic things. The way the country runs things based on age is, in my opinion, a little off. On my birthday I didn't gain the ability to make more rational decisions than I did when I was 17, yet it is expected of me. I propose that age doesn't prove how mature or whatnot you are, but one is required to test into adulthood. This includes: ~Buying tobacco ~Buying alcohol ~Entering certain facilities (titty bars, casinos, etc) ~Obtaining a driver's licese (yes you have to be a certain age and take a test, but who says a 16 year old boy is able to make better decisions than a 13 year old boy?) ~Dropping out of high school ~Getting a job Am I thinking straight or is this just dumb? -- Posted by LtrOusRtD at 10:39 pm on Jan. 7, 2009 Yea.. but they say at that age you are MORE likely to make the better decisions.. There are lots of stupid people out there.. look at who is president/who has been president -- Posted by Mein Alias at 10:40 pm on Jan. 7, 2009 You're thinking straight. I still feel as immature and retarded as I did when I was 11 and able to consciencly think about such issues. -- Posted by thegeek at 10:40 pm on Jan. 7, 2009 It doesn't matter how old you are, it matters how mature you are. I was running sound solo when I was 14. It just matters how responsible with situations. I don't care who you are, farts are funny. -- Posted by Precarious at 10:41 pm on Jan. 7, 2009 all ppl are different -- Posted by Koopsey at 10:41 pm on Jan. 7, 2009 that's not adulthood lol -- Posted by TheHatedOne at 10:41 pm on Jan. 7, 2009 I agree... While I'm only 17, I have friends that are 18 - 19 that are just complete idiots. They make so many stupid and immature choices... I on the other hand have pretty much had to raise myself for years.. Was pretty much forced into early maturity... I'm the youngest and make the best decisions.. Maybe if you could take a test or something before you are 18 to prove that you are ready for adulthood.. And if not you get granted these rights at 18 as usual.. -- Posted by VALIENT at 10:43 pm on Jan. 7, 2009 Quote: from TheHatedOne at 12:41 am on Jan. 8, 2009 I agree... While I'm only 17, I have friends that are 18 - 19 that are just complete idiots. They make so many stupid and immature choices... I on the other hand have pretty much had to raise myself for years.. Was pretty much forced into early maturity... I'm the youngest and make the best decisions.. Maybe if you could take a test or something before you are 18 to prove that you are ready... for adulthood.. And if not you get granted these rights at 18 as usual.. That's the thing, you shouldn't be granted rights just because you survived long enough. You should have to prove in some way you know what the fuck you're doing. -- Posted by telomere13 at 10:43 pm on Jan. 7, 2009 In an ideal world I'd absolutely agree with you. The problem is that tests, in general, are not accurate in all cases. Society is run based on results that are correlated to the things being measured (college entrance tests, grades, etc. correlate with future performance which is why they're used), but not always perfect. Age is just another thing that happens to be correlated to certain other things (decision making skills, etc.) so a test would have to be markedly better than age as a measure in order for it to be viable to test everyone. That's not to say I wouldn't love to see something like that, but even then it wouldn't completely solve the problem of some people being wrongly assessed (in both directions). -- Posted by jakelong at 11:59 pm on Jan. 7, 2009 I never got why so many countries make 18 the cutoff age. -- Posted by PrideAndJoy at 11:40 am on Jan. 8, 2009 Maybe all this responsibility is what forces someone at age 18 to become mature. You may not be mature at 18, but you may be ready to accept responsibility, these responsibilities of which are intended to make you more mature. Ya dig? Or am I high? -- Posted by VALIENT at 3:36 pm on Jan. 8, 2009 Quote: from PrideAndJoy at 1:40 pm on Jan. 8, 2009 Maybe all this responsibility is what forces someone at age 18 to become mature. You may not be mature at 18, but you may be ready to accept responsibility, these responsibilities of which are intended to make you more mature. Ya dig? Or am I high? You high.