For the first instance of a social problem coming from this supposed age of adulthood, take the typical American family. It is setup such that the father rules over the rest; though we heartily deny it, we are a truly patriarchal society. The children are the ones held most under this rule; from their submissive position, not much can be done. This does, of course, depend upon the particular type of family (even generally speaking) of which one is speaking, for there are many that have developed in the United States to date.
In the very distant past, the American child would be married and moved out of the family home by age eighteen. This age, however, has progressively moved later into one's life; with this has been created the problem of adults being treated as children and reacting harshly to said treatment. In modern times, this is the most prevalent that it ever has been in the United States, for not only are adults putting off marriage until after they establish their careers (which is taking a greater portion of their lives than ever before) but they also are unable, due to rising prices and the current economy and job market, to live on their own in their first years following college. Many thus move back in with their parents, thrusting them back into the submissive position in the household after a number of years of near total independence.
While some families are able to make this adjustment both quickly and easily, allowing for greater freedoms to the child and a new setup to develop within the family, the majority of these families remain with the traditional (or former) setup. An example of this prevalence in today's society is in the most recent Folger's commercial, which I just viewed tonight after writing this post. In the commercial, a father is chiding his (clearly grown, adult, in her late-20s at least) daughter for getting in late the prior evening. She replies that she is no longer a child - one can sense the tensions. The advertisement then goes on to explain that she'll be moving out due to her engagement (and presumably marriage). The existence of this commercial shows the extent to which this issue has prevailed in modern society.
The next topic which is of interest is in both the social and political realm. It is the issue of rights and the timing which these rights versus citizen's responsibilities come into effect. This topic has come into play many times throughout history and has again emerged in recent years, in ideas such as the legal drinking age. The most important of these, in my opinion, was when the draft age and the age of legal adulthood were at such drastic difference (18 and 21) that America was requiring her children to go to war without giving them their rights. This is a fight that some today use for the drinking age (and a few others, but drinking age is the most noisy of the arguments). (There are also highly valid arguments opposing this one, opposing the lowering of the age at which rights such as drinking and gambling are granted to citizens and residents, which will likely be addressed later.)
Legally, one without a doubt becomes an adult upon one's eighteenth birthday. At this point, contracts are legally binding, one is criminally accountable, and you are held competent. I could go on, but we all know this list; essentially, at the age of eighteen, you get all of the responsibilities of adulthood. With this, you can do more and you gain the freedoms of adulthood that you have been promised all of your life - but where and what are they? Socially, they are not present, for it is likely that you will either still be living under a patriarchal household, with possible brief reprieves at college housing (when you still have an overlooking "parent" figure to whom you are accountable). Rights that you have gained? There are some, but many of them are pressured socially to not be utilized and others do not come into play until you reach the age of twenty-one.
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