Legally we are adults at the age of 18 – or 21, in some countries. Although we are “categorised” as adults on paper, the real facts are totally different. In fact, research found by a team of neurologists from the University of Cambridge has determined that our brain arrives at the “mature” stage at the age of 30, and not before.
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Categorising is absurd
Peter Jones, co-author of the study, explained to the BBC that “Giving an exact definition of the passage from childhood to adulthood seems more and more absurd (…) It’s a transition that is a lot more nuanced and takes place over nearly three decades.” Therefore, most of us become adults around the age of 30. Before this new decade, our cortex is still developing, which leads to changes in our behaviour, our personality, and even the development of mental disorders.
Several factors are the cause of these issues when we are young, including student debt and unemployment. These causes do not allow for the completion of “obligatory” steps of the transition to adulthood. Consequently, Peter Jones estimates that the etiquette “child/adult” is a simple invention to suit national education and the current system. “There is not childhood on one side, and adulthood on the other. People follow a trajectory. No-one likes the idea of a caterpillar that transforms instantaneously into a butterfly,” he concludes.
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