5 ms·

>So also give them access to tobacco and booze? Depends where you live, but in some EU countries, teens start drinking and smoking and already give up on cigs

>So also give them access to tobacco and booze? Depends where you live, but in some EU countries, teens start drinking and smoking and already give up on cigs and beer before American teens even start. It's pretty common to see 14 year olds smoking and drinking beer outside in public despite these being officially allowed when you're 18. Teens will always try to do what adults tell them is forbidden and bad for them, because doing forbidden things is enticing and makes you look cool and rebellious.

stackbutterflow 4y ago
Your first sentence contradicts your last. I think every year that a teenager doesn't start drinking alcohol is a net benefit. They black out at college parties at 20 so what? By that time their brain is more developed. I think Europeans have a very unhealthy attitude towards alcohol and their kids pay the price of it. And they do not give up alcohol at all. On the contrary, they don't know how to party without alcohol for the rest of their life.
- bigger_cheese 4y ago
  I'm Australian, the legal age is 18 here we have a pretty big binge drinking culture here but I think there are some differences. There is a pub culture here, for example my university had pubs and bars on campus there was a lot of activities like Trivia nights etc. with heavy drinking involved. Pool tables at pubs were pretty common. During Uni I'd often hang out with my friends for a few hours drink beer shoot pool, grab a kebab on the way home, that was a pretty typical night out. Sports involved a lot of drinking as well, I played cricket while I was in university. I'd go to the pub with my cricket team after every game. I think the American experience, especially around University is more focused around house parties and drinking games (unless the keg party, ping pong ball, cup flipping you see on TV shows is just a Stereotype).
- granshaw 4y ago
  And Americans know how to party without alcohol? Not in my experience
- Tade0 4y ago
  > And they do not give up alcohol at all. On the contrary, they don't know how to party without alcohol for the rest of their life. The don't give it up, but they use it in moderation. The prevalence of alcoholism is generally higher in the US than in Europe: https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/alcoholism-by-country https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/alcoholis... The US especially leads in alcoholism among women.
kelipso 4y ago
The argument that you shouldn't ban something because people will do it anyway is very unconvincing. If it's the difference between 5% of people doing something harmful vs 95% of people, of course I'll take the 5%. Furthermore, you won't have parents afraid of banning social media or phones for kids because it's a practical requirement for a social life in current age or something like that

stackbutterflow 4y ago

Your first sentence contradicts your last. I think every year that a teenager doesn't start drinking alcohol is a net benefit. They black out at college parties at 20 so what? By that time their brain is more developed. I think Europeans have a very unhealthy attitude towards alcohol and their kids pay the price of it. And they do not give up alcohol at all. On the contrary, they don't know how to party without alcohol for the rest of their life.

bigger_cheese 4y ago
I'm Australian, the legal age is 18 here we have a pretty big binge drinking culture here but I think there are some differences. There is a pub culture here, for example my university had pubs and bars on campus there was a lot of activities like Trivia nights etc. with heavy drinking involved. Pool tables at pubs were pretty common. During Uni I'd often hang out with my friends for a few hours drink beer shoot pool, grab a kebab on the way home, that was a pretty typical night out. Sports involved a lot of drinking as well, I played cricket while I was in university. I'd go to the pub with my cricket team after every game. I think the American experience, especially around University is more focused around house parties and drinking games (unless the keg party, ping pong ball, cup flipping you see on TV shows is just a Stereotype).
granshaw 4y ago
And Americans know how to party without alcohol? Not in my experience
Tade0 4y ago
> And they do not give up alcohol at all. On the contrary, they don't know how to party without alcohol for the rest of their life. The don't give it up, but they use it in moderation. The prevalence of alcoholism is generally higher in the US than in Europe: https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/alcoholism-by-country https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/alcoholis... The US especially leads in alcoholism among women.

kelipso 4y ago

The argument that you shouldn't ban something because people will do it anyway is very unconvincing. If it's the difference between 5% of people doing something harmful vs 95% of people, of course I'll take the 5%. Furthermore, you won't have parents afraid of banning social media or phones for kids because it's a practical requirement for a social life in current age or something like that