Adolescence now lasts from the ages of 10 to 24, although it used to be thought to end at 19, ((scientists)) say.
Young people continuing their ((education)) for longer, as well as delayed marriage and parenthood, has pushed back popular perceptions of when adulthood begins.
Changing the definition is vital to ensure laws stay appropriate, they write in an opinion piece in the Lancet Child & Adolescent Health journal.
But another expert warns doing so risks "further infantilising young people".
When puberty begins
Puberty is considered to start when the part of the brain known as the hypothalamus starts releasing a hormone that activates the body's pituitary and gonadal glands.
This used to happen around the age of 14 but has dropped with improved health and nutrition in much of the developed world to around the age of 10.
As a consequence, in industrialised countries such as the UK the average age for a girl's first menstruation has dropped by four years in the past 150 years.
Half of all females now have their period by 12 or 13 years of age.
When the body stops developing
There are also biological arguments for why the definition of adolescence should be extended, including that the body continues to develop.
For example, the brain continues to mature beyond the age of 20, working faster and more efficiently.
And many people's wisdom teeth don't come through until the age of 25.
Delaying life's milestones
Young people are also getting married and having children later.
According to the Office of National Statistics, the average age for a man to enter their first marriage in 2013 was 32.5 years and 30.6 years for women across England and Wales. This represented an increase of almost eight years since 1973.
Lead author Prof Susan Sawyer, director of the centre for adolescent health at the Royal Children's Hospital in Melbourne, writes: "Although many adult legal privileges start at age 18 years, the adoption of adult roles and responsibilities generally occurs later."
She says delayed partnering, parenting and economic independence means the "semi-dependency" that characterises adolescence has expanded.
Social policy
This social change, she says, needs to inform policy, such as by extending youth support services until the age of 25.
"Age definitions are always arbitrary", she writes, but "our current definition of adolescence is overly restricted".
"The ages of 10-24 years are a better fit with the development of adolescents nowadays."
Prof Russell Viner, president-elect of the Royal College of Paediatrics & Child Health, said: "In the UK, the average age for leaving home is now around 25 years for both men and women."
He supports extending the definition to cover adolescence up until the age of 24 and says a number of UK services already take this into account.
He said: "Statutory provision in England in terms of social care for care leavers and children with special educational needs now goes up to 24 years," as does provision of services for people with cystic fibrosis.
'Infantilising young people'
But Dr Jan Macvarish, a parenting sociologist at the University of Kent, says there is a danger in extending our concept of adolescence.
"Older children and young people are shaped far more significantly by society's expectations of them than by their intrinsic biological growth," she said.
"There is nothing inevitably infantilising about spending your early 20s in higher education or experimenting in the world of work."
And we should not risk "pathologising their desire for independence".
"Society should maintain the highest possible expectations of the next generation," Dr Macvarish said.
Prof Viner disagrees with Dr Macvarish's criticism and says broadening adolescence can be seen as "empowering young people by recognising their differences".
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((Academia)) trying to normalize manchildernism
No shit
WeW I guess improved health means millions of fat children.
Or more muds/niggers are in the population and less whites
Life without struggle or challenge is not adulthood. You must challenge your self physically/mentally/emotionally to ascend into manhood.
That’s the thing, modern society is so devoid of struggle or challenge that it is insane. I wish there could be some struggle without a war or epidemic to kickstart it. But then, War is the fire that forged the ancient societies. Greece, Rome, France and Britain and Spain. Only problem is that those societies had war for their own benefit. Today war only benefits (((them)))
Well, if there were better job opportunities everywhere it would be lower.
If universities and colleges trained the students to face life as it is, instead of simply jewing them out of their money, they'd be better equipped too.
You cannot wait for war. You must prepare before the war. Everyday should be a war. Push yourself with everything you do. The only time you receive respite is when you reach a goal. No excuses, only results.
Low IQ muds & nogs develop secondary sex characteristics faster. They walk at 11 months & thank h'white God, have a shorter life span.
Also girls from single mother homes hit puberty earlier. Nothing about this is positive.
Expect them to attempt moving AoC up to 21.
No 14 words for you white man!
Shitskins, you're all free to mate like rabbits anytime however
They are right you know but read it with this post.
We cannot blame the symptom and ignore the cause. I do not want justify it but adolescence is being stretched out.
You're saying this in a place known for its manchild NEET audience.
The slow-down of psychological and often physical development is neoteny. The same thing that causes dogs to retain more puppy-like traits. Why wouldn't it affect humans, namely GenY soyboys?
It used to end at 19? Shit… someone forgot to inform my Father of that and I am sure glad they didn't as I would feel like a fucking loser of epic proportions otherwise.
did not obamz make it 26 w obamzcare?
It has happened in every civilization, just worse today because at least centuries/thousands of years ago, there was still a degree of effort for men and food and water wasn't poisoned with drugs and chemicals.
Are we meming Heatman into a NatSoc symbol now?
fucking do it.
This. Even in our own primitive cultures we had rites of passage into manhood. The adolescent males would be grouped togeather and sent out to hunt a beast or get blooded in battle. Or they'd go through more nigger like rituals of scarification or tooth knocking.
This thread made me think it would be a good idea to reintroduce. Nothing like scarification or teeth knocking that shit reeks of a swarthy fellows practice to me. And it doesn't have to be uniformly applied. Young coastal dwelling men could go through their rite by swimming through dangerous waters or spearing a shark. Our inland brothers could get their rites through pigging or ranging through a large swathes of national park unaided.
As it stands the young men of Australia could be viewed as already going through a rite of passage. Sadly these tend to be things like getting shitfaced on your 18th birthday, or fingering Jessica in the macdonalds play ground at 2am. And these things are socially reinforced. Another dangerous thing with (((societies))) rites of passage is barely pubescent children having sex. These kids feel fucking pressured into conforming and losing their virginity as soon as and probably before they turn 13. Hookup culture, drinking culture are the cultural rites we are pressuring our youngsters into to "prove" they're adult.
A suppose a re-envisioned set of rites doesn't even have to be that physically dangerous. through ages of 12-17 males have compulsory education in survival, when they turn 18 they are simply put in a lord of the flies type situation and expected to survive for a month or 2?
In Australia we have something called "the men's shed" they're entirely volunteer funded and supported and basically it's a large shed/warehouse/community centre with machinery of varying quality and the old lads come and teach the young lads metal and woodwork, they do community projects discuss men's issues and sink a few beers. It's been one of the best experiences of my life and the mates and skills I made there are invaluable to me.
but instead of gibs, funnel this money into a men's shed program (and an equivalent for young women). The one's i've been to have recieved zero government support but have had a huge impact on many young blokes lives. Imagine state resources dedicated to improving healthy males relationships, lifestyles and skills.
what do you cunts reckon?
I'll appreciate it more once I hit my 30s/40s, but goddamn if it isn't a drag before then. It's gonna be nice having the resources of a 35 year old but the looks of a 21 year old.
As far as mental maturity goes, I didn't feel like I was reaching actual adulthood until I turned 24. That's when the pressure really started hitting. I just wish I wasn't still so obsessed with getting ass and could be content with concentrating on my work. I swear, sex swallows up entire days of my life, and I'm really trying to waste as little of my foundational years as possible.
BECAUSE THEY CANT AFFORD A HOME. What point is there to trying to raise a family if both you and your wife have to work just so you can afford rent, let alone afford to raise a child, let alone multiple children. Not to even begin to mention the effects of modern dating culture in order to find a wife to begin with.
This entire phenomenon is brought on by the dogshit globalised economy that fed thousands down the line that they would get a job if they went massively into debt for a degree, never entering the workforce til their near 30s. The only youth capable of realistically affording a family pre-25 are trust fund babies who as we all know are clearly more interested in inventing new ways to be gay.
All part of the plan to reduce the white population by tricking people into "waiting" to have children. Humans are fully functional adults at 16.
user, every word in that paragraph describes me.
Same age, same feel, same awakening time.
Except I'm too weird to get sex. even tho I have good looks
"manchildernism" ehh? Is that even a word? I think you meant to say, infantilism.
Acting like a baby isn't normal, but on a liberal campus it is.
^caption for some faggot pic.
< bitch about men
< don't blame women
keek
so faggy