Drinking Age | Teen Ink

Drinking Age

June 2, 2010
By tinkerbubbles PLATINUM, West Chester, Ohio
tinkerbubbles PLATINUM, West Chester, Ohio
20 articles 10 photos 12 comments

Favorite Quote:
Life isnt about finding yourself, its about creating yourself:)

Why talk when you can sing? Why walk when you can dance?


There's an argument going around, I'm sure you've heard of it, about the drinking age. 21? Isn't that too old? Or just right? Maybe even too young? I won't say. You tell me. I see both sides of the argument, and both to me appeal with equal veracity. I will present each argument like that is the one I support. So here's my take on either side:

*Yes, the drinking age should be lowered*
(for this instance, we will say to eighteen)

It only makes sense for the drinking age to be lowered to age 18 in the US. Most other countries have much lower drinking ages than we do, and 18 is the most common one. At age 18, one becomes an adult. Not only is an 18-year-old an adult by title, but he or she assumes the responsibilities of an adult as well as the adult lifestyle.
Once 18 years old, a person is usually done with highschool and moving on to college. Often this person will be starting out life on their own, away from their family. In college there is lots of pressure to drink, especially on college freshmen. But if the drinking age was lowered to 18, college freshman would be legally allowed to drink alcohol. Think about that - don't you agree that there's a lot more peer pressure to do illegal things than there is to do legal things? You often see teens being pressured to do drugs or drink underage, but not often do peers pressure eachother to drink a soda or eat a pizza. It just doesn't make sense.
Also, lots of college freshman flunk out of school because of their partying lifestyle. What was the real problem? Underage freshman are drinking and not knowing how to handle it. They get hungover and then they don't go to class the next day. Or if they do, they can't concentrate. Not being familiar with alcohol can cause lots of problems for underage drinkers. If the age was lowered, those students would become more familiar with how their body can handle alcohol and wouldn't have as many of these problems.
Giving 18-year-olds the legal right to drink would give them more of a sense of responsibility. Everyone knows that many adults have a certain view of young people, that they are irresponsible and apathetic. Although this is an unfair prejudice and does not apply to many young adults, it certainly does apply to some others. In my opinion, calling 18-20-year-olds adults and then not giving them the right to drink alcohol kind of contradicts itself. Not only that, but it gives those people the impression that adults don't trust them as much as they seem to say they do.
Over all, it is clear that the drinking age should be lowered to age 18.

*No, the drinking age should remain 21 years.*

Do we really want to encourage our young adults to take lightly such a lethal material as alcohol? Drunk driving and diseases caused from drinking too much are both huge causes of death in the US every year. How could legalizing 18-year-olds drinking alcohol help this at all? It wouldn't. By lowering the drinking age, we are just encouraging our young adults to hurt themselves.
Lowering the drinking age to 18 will also cause younger teens to take even more lightly the consumption of alcohol. By allowing 18-year-olds to drink alcohol we are encouraging their younger siblings and friends to drink it as well.
Also, many 18-year-olds are still in highschool. Notice the problem with drinking at highschool parties, and imagine how much it would get worse if it were legal for some of the students to be drinking it! And many of these young people would be getting involved with alcohol way too quickly. Diving in headfirst could cause a person to become addicted to alcohol and could potentially ruin a student's education and career, and someone under the age of 21 could be very likely to get heavily involved with alcohol way too quickly.
It's a good idea to space out the privileges that come with adulthood. At age 16, teens are granted the privilege of driving. Many, at age 18 are moving away to college and starting off life on their own. As the law stands now, at age 21, one gains the privilege of drinking alcohol. To add the right of drinking to all the responsibilities that are acquired at age 18 would be far too much to throw at a kid just out of highschool.
Over all, it's a very unwise idea to lower the drinking age to such a significantly young age such as eighteen, for the sake of those young adults.

Hope I helped you form an opinion! I still haven't decided mine.



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This article has 3 comments.


on May. 24 2011 at 4:51 pm
tinkerbubbles PLATINUM, West Chester, Ohio
20 articles 10 photos 12 comments

Favorite Quote:
Life isnt about finding yourself, its about creating yourself:)

Why talk when you can sing? Why walk when you can dance?

thanks for your opinion(: like i said, i'm not claiming to hold either of the two presented opinions. 

BobbaGille said...
on Nov. 25 2010 at 10:19 pm
BobbaGille, Des Moines, Iowa
0 articles 0 photos 2 comments

Favorite Quote:
"When entertaining the public, it is best to have an elephant." - P.T. Barnum

The drinking age should NOT be lowered; I have many reasons for saying so. First of all just because people drink when it is illegal does not mean it should be legal. Take murder, or stealing for instance just because people do it does not mean that they should! That is not right, rules are made for a reason, and not all teens just do things to break the law or be cool, that is a common misunderstanding. Teens would and do drink just like how adults do, so if it is lowered that would not stop teens and young adults from drinking, they do not only do it to break the law.  It would not work and it should never be lowered.

on Jun. 13 2010 at 2:34 pm
JamieStarr GOLD, Sevierville, Tennessee
11 articles 0 photos 54 comments

Favorite Quote:
o! thats why i love you. :) i love you.

i drunk a beer when i was 11 and i drank some more that year there really isnt anything to it. but when you get drunk and you act worse than a 3 or 4 year okd and embarras your self and then in the morning you are really sick. but sometimes when you drink it takes some pressure off your shoulders