Lowering Drinking Age Essay

One of the main reasons why adolescents will start drinking is because of peer pressure or the need to fit in among their classmates or friends. In many cases, first-time college students are pressured into drinking alcohol. Many of the upperclassmen have a big influence on whether or not the first-time students start drinking. Some fraternities require pledges to go through hazing which often leads them to start drinking and in some cases the hazing gets so out of control that it can lead to serious injuries or even death. In a study, researchers took 2,622 participants that were student athletes and first-time college students from 47 different universities. Most

Every country has their own set of laws to protect society of danger. Some people may agree with the laws, and others will violate them. While many have argued that the U.S should lower its legal drinking age, like other European countries, I believe that young adolescents are not cognitively capable of making good choices. A lower drinking age will result in more deaths. Teenagers are already having problems with alcohol. Among many perspectives, teenager’s view of drinking at a young age is really important. Parents play a big role in understanding their teenagers. Their opinion will be a key element into the risky actions done by young teenagers. Not only parents have their thoughts in this issue, but Psychologist have a reasonable explanation of the young adolescent brain. Many functions of the human brain is taken inconsideration regarding teenage behavior.

Many teenagers nowadays are influenced that drinking is cool and it will make them fit in with the rest of the group. Those teens complained that the drinking age should be lowered so they could drink legally without having the feelings of getting caught by law enforcements. They do not fully understood how drinking can affect their health. Drinking age should not be lowered because more teens will drink and it will harm their brains while the brains are still developing. The effect of drinking at such an early age could harm their health worse than it will affect adults.

Why do teenagers choose to drink? This question is ever-present in the minds of parents and caregivers. Teenagers who drink do not comprehend the widespread and longterm effects of their actions. Consuming alcohol is very harmful to the teenager, friends, family, and even strangers. Nearly ten million young people ages twelve to twenty reported consuming alcohol in the past thirty days, with “consumed” being defined as more than a couple sips (“11 Fact About Teens And Alcohol”). These are not good numbers for underaged individuals. Teen drinking is an important factor which can lead to serious injury or death. Teen drinking is a serious issue with life-altering consequences and cannot be ignored.

People drink liquor for various reasons; anxiety, celebration, insomnia etc. Teenagers fall under the category of “people”. The legal drinking age presently is twenty-one in the United States Of America. I can guarantee you that the underage drinking age rate would drop if the age were brought down. One of the reasons behind drinking is enjoyment but the primary purpose behind underage drinking is “breaking the law”. The law says an eighteen – year old is mature enough to make his/her life decisions, yet not ready to drink liquor. In the United States there are different rules for various ages, however when a person turns 18 they tend to move out of their parents and start to begin their own life with their friends. Eighteen year olds have the privilege to vote, get married, and serve in the military, and those even younger than eighteen can drive and become parents. Therefore, it appears to be odd and contradictory for them to not be able to purchase alcohol. We as a whole know why teenagers usually drink. Simply the vibe that they get of breaking the law is huge. Being rebellious and not following the principles is an essential part of a teenager.

Underage drinking among adolescents is becoming a problem in the nation 's youth. The legal drinking age was decided in 1984 for 21 years of age in every state (Wechsler and Nelson 986-992). Although there was a movement proposed to reduce the legal drinking age to 18 in 2008. The movement was proposed from college presidents and universities, which discussed their ideas of the drinking age. Later signing the Amethyst Initiative, leading encouraging debates back and forth trying to lower the legal drinking age. The Amethyst Initiative did not go through however because there were important ramifications toward health and safety issues and required serious participation from the health department (Wechsler and Nelson 986-992). Thus leaving the drinking age at 21 years old. With the legal drinking age at 21 years old, it can lead to teens and young adults to seek alcohol anyway possible to satisfy their needs and entertainment. Adolescents today believe they can get away easily with drinking. They forget underage drinking can cause excessive binge drinking, leading to alcoholism later in life, advertising ads, and long term health effects to their bodies. The popular question among young adults: Why be 21 when teens can get alcohol before hand?

against drinking uncontrollably in teens but no government will give teens other ways to control

Hence in the 1980s we immediately got the scourge of crude binge drinking at fraternity keg parties cut off from the adult world”(). By making it legal someone who is eighteen to drink would help promote better social skills and may can also reduce the number of college campus crimes. Reducing the drinking age can also prevent the number of young people involved in accidents as seen in other countries by those who younger adults that drink in

`Alcohol consumption is very popular within Frats and sororities. There are many Greek life members who enjoy the fact that they are able to take part in alcohol consumption within their frat or sorority. However, alcohol in Greek life brings has more cons than pros. Greek life should be forced to adopt no-alcohol policies because it will prevent acts of alcohol hazing and they are a representation of the school.

What do many teens hope to become? Adults; teens want to be seen as respected adults and have the same privileges as adults. One privilege that teens don’t have is to be allowed to drink at the age of eighteen. Before an experienced adult would answer this question of whether or not teens should be allowed to drink, they need to ask themselves – should eighteen-year olds drink? Some people say yes because teenagers are responsible for their actions and should be able to have a little more leniency. Others say no, because teenagers are more likely to get into trouble with alcohol use and possible accidents due to drinking and driving. However a person looks at this argument, teenagers should be able to make their own decisions in life and learn from their mistakes.

Most importantly, drinking is illegal. I have my entire adult life to drink alcohol if I choose. I see no reason to break the law while I am under the age limit. Teenagers are known to make poor choices and it only takes one of those poor decisions while your mind is impaired to take someone’s life accidently. We are only young for a short amount of time, so why not enjoy the time we have? Why grow up too fast when it is still okay to be a kid? My peers seem to think that drinking is the only way to be social and have fun. However, I have fun with my friends just being myself with no added substances. I am proud to say that I have never experimented with drugs or alcohol. I went to prom and chose not to drink and had an amazing time. The choice not to drink is not a character flaw like my friends believe. It is a positive attribute that makes me very

Another teenager might choose not to drink because they are aware of their actions or are afraid of acting stupid around others. People can still choose to

Additionally the laws in the U.S push teens to do other dangerous substances that are more approachable for adolescents easier to attain. People should understand using these regulations will not stop teeenagers from drinking, in other countries like, France and Germany adolescents are allowed to drink due to this there is a small amount of teenagers that drink. According to Paglia Camille, “Learning how to drink responsibly is a basic lesson in growing up as it is in wine-drinking France or in Germany, with its family-oriented beer gardens and festivals.” (http://search.ebscohost.com). By teaching teenagers to drink in a safe environment when they are drinking they will be responsible about

Teenagers drink alcohol and take drug often from pressure or rebellion. Many teenagers believe that the turning to drugs and alcohol is the answer to all their problems, but they just end up is a very deep and dark hole that is hard to come back from. Some teens that think that their parents don’t understand them or put too much pressure on them are more likely to fall into these terrible habits. Drug and Alcohol use of adolescents cause severe health and brain damage. 86.2% of 14 year olds have drunk alcohol one or more times in their lives. That is such a young age to consume alcohol especially because the human brain doesn’t full develop till the age of 25. Alcohol consumption is in the top 3 major causes of teenage deaths. You can obviously see that teenagers are in crisis, and we as the older generation need to put a stop to this.

Usually some people suffer from depression, anxiety or have peer pressure due to work or school which leads them to heavy drinking. Due to the stress and the immaturity of teenagers, they fall quickly into the hands of alcohol even though they are underage. Teenagers have easy access to alcohol either through older teenagers that buy it for them or in parties even though it is illegal for them to consume for being underage. Underage college students sometimes overdose due to finally having easy access to alcohol in college parties. I think due to teenagers not being mature enough nor are responsible enough to handle too much alcohol inside of them, the government should not lower the drinking age. Lowering the drinking age will increase the death and accident rate.