Name: Ivy (Po Wai) Li

Student No.: 201532083

Topic 1: At what age should a person be considered an adult? Make a
decision about this and then argue your point of view. Do not forget to
include a counter argument and refutation.
At most times, people are considered an adult when they are legally
qualified for marriage, getting a driving license, enlisting in the military or
voting in the President election. In most countries, 18 is the age set for
adulthood and it is the time when civil rights are granted. Therefore, most
people traditionally consider 18 as the mark for adulthood. However,
many medical studies and news reports reveal that teens require more
time to be soundly grown up in different aspects up till their mid-twenties.
So, in my opinion, 25 should be the new 18 which marks adulthood.
First of all, the first rule to be an adult is to be financially independent. The
traditional marks for adulthood like starting ones university life or getting
a driving license at 18 dont truly symbolize adulthood if one still has to be
financially supported by family members to pay the tuition fees or to buy
an iPhone 6. It was reported that almost 60 percent of youngsters expect
financial support from parents till the age of 24 because of economic
depression and escalating living costs (Business Insider 2013). In other
words, it is not a ridiculous idea to reset the adult age to be 25 since many
grown-ups are simply oversized babies who still seek assistance from
their parents. It was revealed that the basic costs for parents to ensure
that their 35-year-old offspring can still text, stream Spotify and watch
The Big Bang Theory are $108 US dollars per month (TIME 2013). Due to
insufficient financial knowledge and excessive care from parents, the
number of teenagers who lack the ability to handle financial issues is
growing fast. When it comes to financial difficulties, teenagers prefer
crying for help from parents at first instead of writing resumes to find a
part-time job or doling out money-saving methods themselves. Hence,
how can one be called an adult if he even doesn't know how to make the
most of whats left in his wallet or to guarantee his mobile service by
paying phone bills himself even though hes turned 18 already? Living a
life without parents is already hard for teens, not to mention the job
market which makes life even harder. It doesn't guarantee juveniles a job
even if they have already got their degree certificate after borrowing
heavy loans. It was reported that the unemployment rate for Americans
in the 20- to 24-year-old age bracket was roughly double the national
average (TIME 2013). Being unable to hunt for a job, teenagers must
pray every day hoping their parents to work harder so as to repay their

debts and keep them alive with food and entertainment. Therefore, it
has become a harsh demand for people to be adults in their early
twenties as long as money still holds an ace.
The second rule to be an adult is to be capable of managing different
emotions, which means one must not abuse drugs out of curiosity, beat
people up out of rage, rape a woman out of sexual arousal or rob a shop
driven by despair due to poverty. However, the juvenile crime related
statistics disclosed that most youngsters are defeated by the devils in
mind, ending up as criminals without self-control. A study about crime-age
relationship revealed that the peak age-crime involvement is younger
than 25 for all crimes reported in the FBIs Uniform Crime Report program
except gambling, and rates begin to decline in the late teenage years for
more than half (Ulmer & Steffensmeier 377). Puberty should be the
crucial factor for high teenage crime rate. After puberty which ends at 15,
adulthood takes its place between 20 and 25 (WebMD 2012). During
puberty, hormonal and physical changes lead teenagers to undergo
moodiness, making them more irritable and aggressive. At the same time,
teenagers highly socialize with their peers during puberty since by their
peers and culture, they become interested in forming what can become
intense, romantic, sometimes sexualized relationships with others
(Oswalt n.d.). As a result, peer influence or pressure will affect teenagers
mental development and behavior a great deal. Instead of making
decisions themselves, teenagers usually prefer to follow suit by observing
what their peers do. So, what if their peers are on drugs, alcoholic,
smokers, or associated with gangsters? It was warned that youngsters
who had friends or acquaintances that had been in trouble are more
inclined to commit crimes (ACS Distance Education n.d.). And we cannot
lose sight of the fact that its as hard as a space mission to put things
back to the right track after they go rotten. On the other hand, as
teenagers before their mid-twenties lack life experiences like job hunting,
relationship building and important decision making, they have difficulties
contemplating what consequences their actions will bring. Hence, their
poor judgment usually ends up as the appalling teen crimes reported in
the news. Compared to those before their mid-twenties, people who reach
25 become much more resistant to peer pressure and moodiness since
our brain still keeps maturing up till our early 20s and such incomplete
brain development is responsible for much of the cognitive and emotional
immaturity (Oswalt n.d.). Owing to complete cognitive and emotional
development as well as sufficient life experiences, people at the age of 25
eventually become capable of taking up responsibilities and anticipating
the potential risks before they take action. They get rid of dependence on
parents and peers and start contributing to society in the labor market

without causing trouble and letting others remedy the aftermath for them
anymore. So, 25 is the age that one becomes an individual with
independent and rational thinking, and these qualifications are exactly
what an adult should possess.
The third rule to be an adult is to be fully developed physically and
psychologically. Concerning physical and psychological maturity,
psychiatrists have found out that major neurological changes occur till the
mid-20s and putting off responsibilities such as marriage, a career or
parenthood, encourages the brain to stay in a state of adolescence
(Knapton 2015). Simply saying, the pressure of growing up suppresses
teenagers capability to think and act like adults, like what the story Peter
Pan conveys. In addition, the hormone dopamine which generates a sense
of pleasure after taking risks also refrains teenagers in their early 20s
from growing up into an adult (Knapton 2015). That accounts for why
teenagers like challenging the authority figures and doing the opposite of
what others advise them to do. The effort our society makes to lecture
youngsters on how to be a proper adult will be to no avail since the brain
development is the crux and nature that external human power cannot
transcend. As a result, it is impossible for one to be adult-like before he
steps into the age of 25 since the harvest time takes a long way to
come. Therefore, the adulthood age should definitely be adjusted to be 25
since neuroscientists further prove with brain scans that the human brain,
especially the part that affects decision making and inhibits impulses for
adult-like planning and behavioral organization, will not be fully developed
until 25 (NPR 2011).
Age may just be a number. Someone is qualified to be called an adult
even though he is below 18 if he can successfully tackle his own financial
and emotional hardship. On the contrary, someone can also be called a
kid even though he is over 18 if he only takes advantage of parental love
to overcome all ups and downs. Nonetheless, despite the fact that
adulthood cant be simply judged by a number, 25 is the best age to
quantify and to determine maturity based on many medical studies and
teen research results stated above. So, from today, don't call yourself an
adult if you still havent hit the age 25.

List of references
Woodruff, Mandi. "One In Four Teens Plan On Relying On Mom And Dad Till

Age 27." Business Insider. Business Insider, Inc, 28 Mar. 2013. Web. 10
June 2015. <http://www.businessinsider.com/teens-financially-dependenttill-age-27-2013-3>.
White, Martha C. "Financial Independence? Todays Young People Dont
Expect It Anytime Soon | TIME.com." Business Money Financial
Independence Todays Young People Dont Expect It Anytime Soon
Comments. 4 Apr. 2013. Web. 10 June 2015.
<http://business.time.com/2013/04/04/financial-independence-todaysyoung-people-dont-expect-it-anytime-soon/>.
Oswalt, Angela. "Seven Counties Services Inc." Seven Counties Services
Inc. Web. 14 June 2015.
<http://www.sevencounties.org/poc/view_doc.php?
type=doc&id=38408&cn=1276>.
"Slideshow: The Stages of Puberty." WebMD. WebMD, 2012. Web. 14 June
2015. <http://www.webmd.com/children/early-puberty-10/slideshowpuberty-stages>.
"Brain Maturity Extends Well Beyond Teen Years." NPR. NPR, 10 Oct. 2011.
Web. 14 June 2015. <http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?
storyId=141164708>.
Why Do Youths Commit Crime, Teenage Crime Risk Factors. Why Do
Youths Commit Crime, Teenage Crime Risk Factors. Web. 14 June 2015.
<http://www.acs.edu.au/info/psychology/child-development/crimerisk.aspx>.
knapton, Sarah. "True Adulthood Doesn't Begin until Age 25." The
Telegraph. Telegraph Media Group, 15 Feb. 2015. Web. 14 June 2015. <
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/science/science-news/11413884/Trueadulthood-doesnt-begin-until-age-25.html>.
Beaver, Kevin M. "The Age and Crime Relationship: Social Variation, Social
Explanations." The Nurture versus Biosocial Debate in Criminology: On the
Origins of Criminal Behavior and Criminality. Sage Publications, 2014. 377.
Print.