Is it just because that’s when you’re done with high school? College is still fairly “expected”, so why isn’t that counted?
I don’t understand why most/a lot of cultures view 18 as that turning point, even though we know the brain isn’t even fully developed until 25.
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Adulthood has changed from culture to culture and generation to generation. In the 1800’s and early 1900’s adulthood was considered 21 in the USA, where voting became permitted. But the military accepted people as young as 18, so adulthood was dropped to give a vote to those who could potentially be drafted. In theory this enabled them to vote on candidates that might enter or abstain from a war, giving them a chance to Influence this.
In previous centuries it was measured by puberty. Some cultures still celebrate one as a a man or a woman at 13, when puberty occurs on average, although this isn’t necessarily a legal adulthood, just a culturally recognized adulthood.
Some would place the age of consent as adulthood, and this varies from 14 and up.
The age of adulthood is entirely arbitrary, and is chosen entirely by cultural and societal pressures.
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