When Do You Truly Become An Adult?
Updated: 9 hours ago
According to the Cambridge Dictionary, the definition of an adult is “a person who is fully grown or developed or of age”. However, is the meaning of “fully grown” equivalent to being “of age”? Under law, an adult is “an individual who has reached the age of majority” which is the specific age set by law when a person gains full legal rights and responsibilities. However, is the age of majority a synonym to what society perceives as “mature”?
Age of Majority
In most countries, the legal age of majority is 18 years old; however, it can range up to 21 depending on the country or legal context. This is a huge deal, not only emotionally for parents and family, but also legally. By law, this means that as soon as the clock strikes midnight at a person's 18th birthday (or in some cases, up to 21), they're granted full legal rights and responsibilities. Many people are excited for their birthdays because it brings multiple benefits; however, it also comes with many responsibilities. Reaching the legal age of majority includes benefits such as voting, serving, signing legal actions, buying alcohol, making medical choices, getting married and, most importantly, not requiring parental authorization over ones decisions.. This is a huge mark for most soon-to-be “adults” because it gives them freedom to take whichever path they'd like to in life overnight. However, becoming a legal adult also comes with multiple responsibilities that most minors don't have to worry about. Some of which include: criminal liability, financial debt, and parental support. Criminal liability consists of court responsibility; basically, entering adulthood means your actions can now result in permanent consequences. Losing mandatory parental support also puts many juveniles at risk, as their parents aren't legally required to provide them any financial support nor are they responsible for your actions, forcing many to begin actually seeking financial help or looking over their actions with more responsibilities. This also creates opportunities for risen adults to enter financial debt or face frequent criminal charges, which explains why most property and violent crime offenses are often committed by those in between late adolescence and early adulthood.
Brain/Maturity
Throughout your life, you've probably heard people in their adolescence to mid 20's saying something like “My frontal lobe isn’t fully developed yet.” after regretting a bad decision. Many people tend to go to that excuse because the idea that your brain isn’t done developing can be oddly reassuring when trying to excuse a bad decision. Studies show that during early childhood, the frontal lobes of the brain experience rapid growth. According to researchers, by the age of 6, the brain is approximately 90% of its adult size. However, the brain maturation process goes way beyond its “wiring”. Some factors that influence the rate of one's maturity include sleep patterns, childhood trauma, family history and many others. Furthermore, drug abuse such as the exploration of nicotine and alcohol, both very common practices between teenagers, can also influence the maturation of the adolescent brain. Additionally, other studies show that one's prefrontal cortex–a part of the brain located in the frontal lobe responsible for controlling higher level functions like planning, decision-making, self-control and judgment–tends to finish developing around the age of 25. This explains why it is so common for adolescents to often act impulsively. Therefore, it seems way too vague to defy maturation as a pattern, instead of relating each individual to their own life experiences and evolution. This brings us back to the major question: If the brain remains developing until the early 20's, is the age of majority really a fair way to measure one's readiness to actually become an adult?
Emancipation
A very contradictory process that challenges the definition of an adult is the process of emancipation, which consists of a court process that gives a minor the legal status of an adult, allowing them to make decisions, sign contracts, and manage their own legal/financial obligations without parental involvement. In other words, with their parents' legal authorization, emancipated minors assume adult responsibilities prior to reaching the legal age of majority. Despite granting a minor with a legal adult's legal rights, privileges, and duties, emancipation still has some exceptions that include drinking alcohol, obtaining a driver's license, and voting.
The law uses a fixed number to define adulthood for order and safety. However, just like emancipation rules, the legal age of majority varies widely around different parts of the globe. Therefore, is it really credible to determine one's readiness for adult responsibilities through a number, if it's not always the same for everyone? Real maturity is not about hitting a checkpoint, it varies for each person based on life experience and biology.
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