Are we mature by 18? - CrowdScience podcast, BBC World Service

Eighteen is the age of maturity in most countries around the world. Depending where you live, it might be when you can vote, buy alcohol or get married. But what's so special about 18 that makes it the beginning of adulthood?

CrowdScience listener Lynda didn't feel very mature back then. She recalls a difficult decision that made her wonder what science has to say about when we’re truly grown up. How developed are we - physically, mentally and emotionally - by the age of 18? And how much does this differ between people, or from culture to culture?

Presenter Caroline Steel digs around for answers with the aid of neuroscientist Sarah-Jayne Blakemore, biological anthropologist Barry Bogin, and cultural anthropologist Bonnie Hewlett. And even some teenagers.

00:00 What changed when you turned 18?
04:44 When do our brains fully mature?
11:47 Making mature decisions
18:00 What about our physical maturity?
22:19 The Aka culture
26:02 Does our environment affect our psychological maturity?

----------------
This is the official BBC World Service YouTube channel.
If you like what we do, you can also find us here:

Thanks for watching and subscribing!
#BBCWorldService #WorldService #maturity

[nvquynhdung]

Maturity is when you can control emotions and feelings to reflect yourself professionally dealing with ups and downs.

[HmmM-wndx]

Maturity comes with experience and achievements.

[Namah]

Maturity does not depend on age but on one’s surroundings and living environment.

[fed-yum]

Like. You know. Like. I've never felt like an adult. Like. Like.

[lucheeese]

Adolescence is from 10-18, late adolescence 18-24.

18 eigh_teen_
We don't have experience at 18, lack knowledge, we are still educating, learning about ourselves, building ourselves, mentally, emotionally, socially. And hopefully these we will keep building onto.
Someone calling themselves at 18 mature, or others at 18 mature, is a sign of immaturity and a red flag

[mcaslaf]

To me maturity starts at 25. When your frontal lobe finally fully developed.

[user-rxtxpxdx]

Life is a mystery ! Young wants to get mature, mature wants to get young again but none of them can 😅

[annk]

This video actually explain why there is so many parents who aren’t holding themselves responsible for their children, in their mid 30 or 40 ( they rely on their children to take care of them)

[creativesource]

You are mature when you earn enough to pay your own way. You are really mature when you can also look after someone else.

[francesbernard]

I admit to not being mature. At age 68. Since everyone these days has their own definition about what being mature is. I began to catch onto that when a really old professor in English while discussing with us a fictional story concerning a story involving a water fight. The particular paragraph was concerning a boy squirting water over to another classmates chest. In his opinion that was because SHE was stilll imature. When there was no illustrations in that story in that book. It was then that it started becoming harder for me to not feel like giving up. I struggle with rumination too. About the past which does influence today. Well at least I don't have to leave my legs below the knees or so in the past when never having fought in a war. While so many people out there and my second husband too was often critizing me for dwelling in the past. While he was often discussing my brain with other women and sometimes men too. Often. You don't want to know what I caught him asking a young man to do for him once too. When allegedly only everybody else was most the time is automatically long long before the age 21 in the past is called immature. Perhaps that old English professor DECADES ago may have only been stuck on the word she at the time when it was only just a slip of the tongue. Since the guy was a decent fellow maybe that was only because he was well past retirement. While being mature. When not having any illustrations to rely on too.

[tamalikabiswas]

maturity is when you stop saying like and just pause

[ameliey]

In ancient times, ppl mature way early than now. Many women had kids at teenage stage.

[PhilipLawson-ko]

No one can define a person's life. Do what you want and what you like to do, which is an excellent and desirable thing.

[klawtawar]

At the age of 45 we become perfect mature.

[erikalin]

My dad is still acting like child, so I suppose he has some permanent brain damage.

[lfv]

Yep this was pathetic. Are the BBC capable of presenting genuine, respectable, truly science based research ever? The statements made, or rather personal opinions ie. NOT fact, especially by that male anthropologist, were a pointless self indulgent mess. What a waste of time.

[Hsgdnvxjgykkmu]

In our country the most girls get married at the age of 18😢. Even if they are not ready.

[lawrencehawkins]

1941 - 1942. Damn odd. 18-year-olds became men in a snap. They saved the world from Fascism. Today? I wouldn't trust an 18 year old to change a flat tire. By God, you know it's true!

[relafeng]

Mentally not at all, when I look back now

[Gustavo-]

Yeah I think when you're half black, half something else, the working class punters go crazy over that know what I mean