School Kids To Strike For The 5Th Time Of Friday

[Bobbisox1]

The debate on Jeremy Vine is
Should the voting age be lowered to 16 as these young people are the future of the planet
They can join the army
They can get married

But are they well equipped to know exactly what there voting for?

[spathiphyllum]

I do. I've been 16. I also know many 16 year olds from the Skatepark. Very impressionable without much background knowledge.

They'll think something and back it with their life because someone said it that they look up to.

[ummmm]

We've all been 16!! Maybe you should hang out with a different group of teenagers and get their point of views.

[spathiphyllum]

I don't hang out with 16 year olds i just know a lot of them. They use the same facilities as myself.

And yes we've all been 16.. But i've been 16 in an age closer to the times that these 16 year olds are currently 16.

What i mean by that is.. I know the social concepts and structures and ideologies of 2019 16 year olds better than others on AB.

[jim360]

Ah, that explains my confusion, Pixie.

I still don't get this insistence that people at 16 aren't "well-equipped", but everybody aged 18 is. That's simply not a relevant test.

[spathiphyllum]

And let me tell you they're more focused on what they're doing after GCSE's like A levels or college than what political movements are occurring.

Yes politics affects education but I feel 18 is a suitable age.

You think you understand the world at 16... at 18 you realise how foolish you were and then you feel you know how the land lies. At 21 you realise your continued stupidity... Again at 25, 30, 33 etc...

[pixie374]

Whatever reasons a 16 year old has, are just as valid as an 18 year old's. As I said before, most people seem to vote depending on their own personal interests and I see no reason why 16 year olds are less important than "adults". Remember it is only a maximum of 5 years anyway. I'm not sure whether people genuinely believe that teenagers don't know about politics, or are just worried they will vote "the wrong way"...

[spathiphyllum]

"Whatever reasons a 16 year old has, are just as valid as an 18 year old's. "

Not true.

Education is compulsory until 18..

Do you not think it's wise to finish being educated to the minimum level before you decide what political party will govern not only you but also bin men, 50 year old bankers, entrepreneurs etc..

Nah.

[pixie374]

Spath, then maybe it would make more sense to only let people between 40-50 vote. Before then you are too immature and afterwards you are (apparently) too old to care about the next generation.

[spathiphyllum]

That's a bit dramatic.

18+ is perfectly fine.

[spathiphyllum]

I think a limit of 90 would be fine also.

[pixie374]

It's only compulsory in England, spath. And schools only teach politics at 16-18 years old, if that person chooses to study it, and therefore already had an interest. Otherwise, they are unlikely to learn much more, if you are going by school education.
If they can read a manifesto... or watch the news... why are their views unimportant?

[pixie374]

18-90. That seems a little unfair, as some of the most intelligent and up-to-date people I know are over 90.

[spathiphyllum]

"why are their views unimportant?"

They're not unimportant.. But that doesn't mean they can vote.

Many 16 year olds would be ready.. sure. But the vast majority are not.

How about if you're a politics student you can vote at an earlier age?

and it's not about "fair". Nothign about politics is fair.

[spathiphyllum]

People are always so entitled lol. Life aint fair get use to itt i thought you would have known by now!


Why should an under educated under developed human be able to vote for political parties that affect the entire nation?

[ummmm]

Spath - many of us on this site have children younger than you claim to be so we know different age ranges also.

[pixie374]

There is nothing to say that an over 18 should be able to "affect the nation" either. Except we all live in it. I don't think "life is unfair" is a particularly good reason to continue with something.
People grow up much faster nowadays, physically, emotionally and with awareness. At some point, we need to reflect that.

[spathiphyllum]

"People grow up much faster nowadays"
Science has actually suggested the opposite and that people are developing mentally much slower than they were before. Not to mention how touchy, emotional and offended the youth get. (See, this is the 5th strike..when will they realise no means no?)

Ummmm.. that may be the case but your kids act differently when not around you and you see them through rose tinted glasses.

[pixie374]

Do you have a link to this "science" please, spath? As it is the opposite of what I have seen.

[teacake44]

The only reason they let 16 year olds join the army is because they know that their immature. The glossy adds of fun and excitement, its not until they get older that they realise what a big mistake they've made.

[spathiphyllum]

"As it is the opposite of what I have seen."

Do you have any links to what you've seen?

"Adolescence now lasts from the ages of 10 to 24, although it used to be thought to end at 19, scientists say." - BBC, 2018.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-42732442

https://edition.cnn.com/2017/09/22/health/teens-grow-up-slower-partner/index.html

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/extended-adolescence-when-25-is-the-new-181/