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Also, is it common for 16 year olds to ask for a car in the US? I asked my mum to make my favourite food, and some money so i could go out with friends. Compare

by coolnow 13y ago

Also, is it common for 16 year olds to ask for a car in the US? I asked my mum to make my favourite food, and some money so i could go out with friends. Compared to "a car" or a Macbook Pro, it sounds like i had a deprived life.

gojomo 13y ago
If you're in a community where driving is common/necessary, and most family incomes are high enough for teen drivers to have a car – that is to say, lots of US middle-class suburbia – then yes, it's common. There are some indications that denser-development, economics, safety-concerns, and the rise of alternative attention-demanding status-objects like mobile phones are now shifting the norms. See for example: http://www.theatlanticcities.com/technology/2012/08/young-people-arent-buying-cars-because-theyre-buying-smart-phones-instead/2873/ http://www.theatlanticcities.com/technology/2012/08/young-pe...
alistairSH 13y ago
Yes, very common, at least in the wealthier regions. Many kids have a car available as soon as they can legally drive. That said, I've noticed a trend among my son's peers. Many of them delayed driving until they left for college. Not sure why. When I was that age, everybody skipped school on their 16th birthday to go take the driving test.
- daxelrod 13y ago
  NPR did a piece examining this phenomenon: http://www.npr.org/2013/08/21/209579037/why-millennials-are-ditching-cars-and-redefining-ownership http://www.npr.org/2013/08/21/209579037/why-millennials-are-...
daxelrod 13y ago
Yes, it is common for them to ask. (It doesn't mean they get it, though). A large part of the US is not practically walkable and has insufficient public transportation. In order to "go out with friends", sometimes to even see said friends, to hold down a job, to go to the store, transportation in a car may be necessary. Teenagers prefer to not rely on their parents to take them places. Thus, car ownership represents freedom and autonomy to US teenagers.

by coolnow 13y ago

gojomo 13y ago

If you're in a community where driving is common/necessary, and most family incomes are high enough for teen drivers to have a car – that is to say, lots of US middle-class suburbia – then yes, it's common. There are some indications that denser-development, economics, safety-concerns, and the rise of alternative attention-demanding status-objects like mobile phones are now shifting the norms. See for example: http://www.theatlanticcities.com/technology/2012/08/young-people-arent-buying-cars-because-theyre-buying-smart-phones-instead/2873/ http://www.theatlanticcities.com/technology/2012/08/young-pe...

alistairSH 13y ago

Yes, very common, at least in the wealthier regions. Many kids have a car available as soon as they can legally drive. That said, I've noticed a trend among my son's peers. Many of them delayed driving until they left for college. Not sure why. When I was that age, everybody skipped school on their 16th birthday to go take the driving test.

daxelrod 13y ago
NPR did a piece examining this phenomenon: http://www.npr.org/2013/08/21/209579037/why-millennials-are-ditching-cars-and-redefining-ownership http://www.npr.org/2013/08/21/209579037/why-millennials-are-...

daxelrod 13y ago

Yes, it is common for them to ask. (It doesn't mean they get it, though). A large part of the US is not practically walkable and has insufficient public transportation. In order to "go out with friends", sometimes to even see said friends, to hold down a job, to go to the store, transportation in a car may be necessary. Teenagers prefer to not rely on their parents to take them places. Thus, car ownership represents freedom and autonomy to US teenagers.