Most kids can’t wait to turn 18 when they’re growing up. It’s the age that you officially become an adult and get to take on all kinds of new responsibilities — some fun, and some not so fun. What you do with the rest of your life is completely up to you.
Then, of course, you actually become an adult, and you realize how hard it is. Many people would agree that their 20s were one of the hardest periods of their lives. You have to get used to living life on your own and being the one who is ultimately responsible for pretty much everything. It suddenly feels like adulthood isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. But what if you aren’t even an adult yet when you turn 18?
New research shows that our brains actually do not reach adulthood until we’re much older than 18.
While 18 is the traditional celebratory and legal age of becoming an adult in many countries, scientists believe that your brain isn’t actually prepared for adulthood until years later. In a study published in Nature Communications, researchers reviewed the brain activity of 3,082 people between the ages of zero and 90. Using Uniform Manifold Projection and Approximation, a method of studying brain topography, they found that there are “five major epochs of topological development.” These occur between ages 9, 32, 66, and 83.
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The researchers’ conclusion was that true adulthood begins at 32. “Our findings suggest that in Western countries (i.e., the United Kingdom and United States of America), adolescent topological development extends to around 32-years-old, before brain networks begin a new trajectory of topological development,” they said. 32 may seem like an unassuming age, but there’s a lot happening inside your brain then.
18 years old is what is considered the ‘legal age’ in most states in the U.S.
According to Cornell University’s Legal Information Institute, “This is the age at which a person gains control over their own actions and affairs and becomes responsible for the decisions they make.” Parents Magazine writer Jackie Burrell noted, “18 is a milestone into adulthood accompanied by new privileges and serious legal implications. At 18, your teen can vote, buy a house, or wed their high school sweetheart. They can also go to jail, get sued, and gamble.”
There are a lot of big things that happen when you turn 18, but why is that the specific age when you’re considered an adult? Does something magical happen when you shift from 17 to 18? And would 32 really be a more appropriate age to be thought of as an adult?
Maybe the biggest lesson is that there needs to be some compromise when considering someone an adult.
It’s really not clear why the U.S. and some other countries have chosen 18 as the legal age, other than the fact that it’s become tradition. Waiting until 32 to call someone an adult may seem extreme, but scientists don’t think it’s such a bad idea.
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Alexa Mousley, the lead author of the study and a neuroscientist at the University of Cambridge, told Scientific American, “What we find suggests that the journey from childlike brain development to this peak in the early 30s is distinct from other phases in the lifespan. This doesn’t mean that the brain of a 17-year-old and a 30-year-old look … the same — it’s specifically that the types of changes occurring … are consistent.”
Of course, waiting until someone is 32 to call them an adult and allow them to vote, go to college, or work a full-time job wouldn’t really work in our society. Perhaps we don’t really need to make any concrete changes, but we do need to be aware of the fact that brains are still developing at 18. Just because someone is legally an adult doesn’t mean they’re ready to take on all of the responsibilities that come with it.
Mary-Faith Martinez is a writer with a bachelor’s degree in English and Journalism who covers news, psychology, lifestyle, and human interest topics.
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