According to the law, adulthood begins at 18 years old, but this does not mean that at this age a person becomes an adult. The very concept of “adult” implies reaching not only a certain age, but also physical and mental maturity. Moreover, each of these factors is important, so the line between youth and adulthood is very blurred. It depends on many factors, such as: a person's development, the way and conditions of his life, the norms accepted in the society around him, etc. Neurobiologists consider adulthood to be the age at which the brain stops forming. It comes much later than many people imagine.
There is no clear boundary between adolescence and adulthood. Photo source: studyfinds.org
Contents
- 1 What is the difference between an adult and a young person
- 2 At what age do people consider themselves adults
- 3 At what age does a person become an adult from a scientific point of view
- 4 Is it difficult to be an adult?
What is the difference between an adult and a young person
The division of a person's life cycle into age categories, including adolescence and maturity, depends on many factors, so it has changed many times. For example, according to the USSR classification, adolescence ends at 20-21 years old. Accordingly, middle age begins at 21-22 years old. True, it is also divided into two periods: up to 35 years old (the first period) and after 35 years old (the second period). Usually, at 21-22 years old, young people get a job and start a family. Therefore, the logic of such a classification is understandable, but rarely does anyone feel completely adult at 21-22 years old.
This raises the question of what generally influences the feeling of “adulthood” and what are the criteria? To find out, the research company Talker Research conducted a survey in which 2,000 Americans took part. Respondents were asked to answer a variety of questions, including what they thought were the main signs of growing up?
A sign of an adult is the priority of responsibilities over personal life. Photo source: kartinki.pics
More than half of respondents believe that an indicator of growing up is the ability to pay your own bills. Also, 45% of people consider financial independence an important indicator. Another sign, according to 38% of respondents, is the priority of responsibilities over personal life. That is, for an adult, personal life and entertainment fade into the background, as responsibility increases.
According to the survey results, many young people feel more grown up after moving out of their parents' home and getting their first job. However, 11% of respondents reported that after they left their parents' home, they did not feel more grown up.
At what age do people consider themselves adults
According to the results of the same survey, most people begin to feel like adults at about 27-28 years old. Around this time, people begin to manage their finances wisely, but this does not apply to all generations.
Guys and girls start feeling like full-grown adults at 27-28 years old. Photo source: nur.kz
The survey results showed that Generation Z pays its own bills by the age of 22 and manages money more wisely than previous generations. Perhaps this is due to the fact that they feel pressure from their older relatives. At the same time, Generation Z lags behind previous generations in retirement planning and life insurance.
At what age does a person become an adult from a scientific point of view
Scientists from the University of Cambridge do not agree that a person becomes an adult at 21-22 years. Moreover, even at 27-28 years old, a person cannot be considered fully adult. The study showed that people at this age are still undergoing changes in the brain that affect their behavior. The brain continues to form until about 30 years. It follows that only after 30 years does full mental maturity occur.
However, according to researchers, much also depends on the person. For some people, the transition from childhood to adulthood happens quickly, while for others it takes much longer. But, in any case, growing up does not happen “at the click of a button,” but takes decades. We are talking primarily about the development of the brain and the improvement of a person.
According to scientists, a person becomes fully adult only by the age of 30. Photo source: kartinki.pics
However, there are other studies by neuroscientists, according to which adolescence lasts until the age of 25. If we take the period from 25 to 30 years, the respondents' answers are quite consistent with the data that scientists talk about. It is interesting that a person achieves his best physical shape not with the onset of adulthood, but earlier. To be convinced of this, it is enough to simply look at the age of the most successful athletes.
Is it difficult to be an adult?
More than 40% of all respondents said that being an adult turned out to be more difficult than they expected. First of all, in their opinion, this concerns financial stability. Almost 40% of respondents reported that they do not have financial stability. Of these, more than 40% doubt that they will ever be able to achieve financial stability. But what is even more interesting is that this “financial pessimism” increases with age. For example, among baby boomers, 66% of respondents believe that they will never succeed in this regard.
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Finally, we note that with aging people, things are a little different – there are certain turning points when a person begins to age especially strongly. To be more precise, there are two such turning points.