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Well, 14 year olds are not capable of that because we force them into that state until 18 years old, and some might say 21 years. Keep them eight hours a day i

Well, 14 year olds are not capable of that because we force them into that state until 18 years old, and some might say 21 years. Keep them eight hours a day interacting only with people their same age, give them zero spending power in a world where money is the primary objective, give them no political clout, zero challenges and a pretty much zero chance of failure. And of course what you get is individuals that can't make these decisions.

hawkharris 13y ago
We're discussing two issues. First, there's the issue of granting minors basic legal protection from unwonted sexual material and sexual advances. Second, there's the issue of coddling them and not properly educating them about sex. The first issue is not necessarily synonymous with the second. Sex ed in this country is certainly inadequate. For example, many school districts continue to teach abstinence-only ed, despite dozens of studies showing that it doesn't work. The solution is to focus on improving children's access to sex education while granting them basic legal protection against sex offenders. Children don't have to choose between being coddled or protected from abuse.
sliverstorm 13y ago
That isn't the only reason. Teenage brains are still developing.
- Dylan16807 13y ago
  Until 25.
  - ars 13y ago
    Until 120. Brains never stop growing and changing - it slows down, but there is no bright line.
    - vxNsr 13y ago
      right but what Dylan and silverstorm are referring to is the fact that until about 20-21 the part of your brain that regulates fear and common sense isn't fully developed (which is the main reason that car insurance goes down after 22).
      - ars 13y ago
        > until about 20-21 .. fear and common sense .. isn't fully developed Total nonsense. It's just used to retrocon why teenagers are given less and less responsibility. For virtually all of recorded history by 20-21 you were an adult with approximately 3 kids. If people had no common sense by that age they would be dead. The brain responds to input - if you are given no responsibility, then your brain never learns responsibility. People keep "chasing" the magical age when you are responsible, when actually you have to learn it. And you have to learn it by doing it. You can't wait until after you have it - it doesn't work that way. Car insurance goes down after 22 because by then most people have had 6-8 years of driving experience. If you started drivers earlier, then insurance rates would go down earlier as well.
        dragonwriter 13y ago
        > > until about 20-21 .. fear and common sense .. isn't fully developed > For virtually all of recorded history by 20-21 you were an adult. If people had no common sense by that age they would be dead. There is a pretty gigantic difference between "isn't fully developed" and "doesn't exist at all". Try not completely rewriting the position you are responding to just so you have something laughably easy to rebut. This is particularly silly in a medium where the original you are responding to is readily available, and even more silly when you quote the bit you are radically rewriting in your own response.
        ars 13y ago
        The problem with that is that "fully developed" is a meaningless phrase. There is no fully developed - as I wrote in my earlier comment, it keeps developing for a persons entire life. There is no point where it stops. Another problem is that this type of development is more influenced by environment than it is by age. So using age as a cutoff because of "developed" is silly - that's not the thing that matters the most.

hawkharris 13y ago

We're discussing two issues. First, there's the issue of granting minors basic legal protection from unwonted sexual material and sexual advances. Second, there's the issue of coddling them and not properly educating them about sex. The first issue is not necessarily synonymous with the second. Sex ed in this country is certainly inadequate. For example, many school districts continue to teach abstinence-only ed, despite dozens of studies showing that it doesn't work. The solution is to focus on improving children's access to sex education while granting them basic legal protection against sex offenders. Children don't have to choose between being coddled or protected from abuse.

sliverstorm 13y ago

That isn't the only reason. Teenage brains are still developing.

Dylan16807 13y ago
Until 25.
- ars 13y ago
  Until 120. Brains never stop growing and changing - it slows down, but there is no bright line.
  - vxNsr 13y ago
    right but what Dylan and silverstorm are referring to is the fact that until about 20-21 the part of your brain that regulates fear and common sense isn't fully developed (which is the main reason that car insurance goes down after 22).
    - ars 13y ago
      > until about 20-21 .. fear and common sense .. isn't fully developed Total nonsense. It's just used to retrocon why teenagers are given less and less responsibility. For virtually all of recorded history by 20-21 you were an adult with approximately 3 kids. If people had no common sense by that age they would be dead. The brain responds to input - if you are given no responsibility, then your brain never learns responsibility. People keep "chasing" the magical age when you are responsible, when actually you have to learn it. And you have to learn it by doing it. You can't wait until after you have it - it doesn't work that way. Car insurance goes down after 22 because by then most people have had 6-8 years of driving experience. If you started drivers earlier, then insurance rates would go down earlier as well.
      - dragonwriter 13y ago
        > > until about 20-21 .. fear and common sense .. isn't fully developed > For virtually all of recorded history by 20-21 you were an adult. If people had no common sense by that age they would be dead. There is a pretty gigantic difference between "isn't fully developed" and "doesn't exist at all". Try not completely rewriting the position you are responding to just so you have something laughably easy to rebut. This is particularly silly in a medium where the original you are responding to is readily available, and even more silly when you quote the bit you are radically rewriting in your own response.
        ars 13y ago
        The problem with that is that "fully developed" is a meaningless phrase. There is no fully developed - as I wrote in my earlier comment, it keeps developing for a persons entire life. There is no point where it stops. Another problem is that this type of development is more influenced by environment than it is by age. So using age as a cutoff because of "developed" is silly - that's not the thing that matters the most.