Many states and countries have varied age limits for individuals who should be drinking. My position on this issue is that the legal drinking age should be lowered to 18 because it is hypocritical to deny a legal adult the privilege of drinking yet they have the rights to vote, drive, buy cigarettes, serve in the military, and sign for a lease. Three supporting viewpoints to my pro viewpoint include: 18 is the age of adulthood which gives individuals the right to make their own decisions; allowing 18 year olds to drink alcohol in regulate environments reduces unsafe drinking; and countries whose drinking age is 18 have fewer traffic accidents and fatalities.
The first supporting viewpoint, “18 is the age of adulthood which gives individuals the right to make their own decisions,” illustrates that when people turn 18 years, they are given the responsibilities and rights of adulthood (Procon.org, 2018). As such, they participate in activities such as voting, getting married, being prosecuted as adults, joining the military, and smoking cigarettes (DeJong " Blanchette, 2014). These activities, just like drinking, risk one’s life and involves personal decision making. By believing in this viewpoint, I advocate for the lowering of the drinking age limit to 18 when one is already mature. When I turned 18, I could tell what is right and what is wrong, so if I would consider drinking, I would ensure that my consumption level is controlled to avoid any harm.
The second supporting viewpoint is that allowing 18 year olds to drink alcohol in regulated environments reduces unsafe drinking (Procon.org, 2018). When youths who have attained 18 years are prohibited from accessing bars, restaurants, or licensed drinking locations, they will be forced to drink in unsupervised areas like house parties and fraternity house. The limitation and place restriction, thus, promotes binge drinking as well as unsafe behaviors (Toumbourou, Kypri, Jones, " Hickie, 2014). This viewpoint is true, especially in cases where youths between the age of 18 and 20 are working. With the money they receive monthly, they are able to organize house parties without their parents’ approval in which they engage in binge drinking that may increase cases of careless driving and accidents.
The believing that raising the age limit for drinking would reduce traffic accidents is that most young alcohol takers are inexperienced young drivers who could potentially cause danger to themselves and others. During holidays, a lot of people engage in celebratory drinking which makes the roads less safe for drivers. If this situation is combined with other factors including inexperienced, immature, inebriated, teenage drivers, the situation would be alarming. The believing that lowering the drinking age would give high schoolers easier access to alcohol is that many 28 year old youths and high schoolers are always willing to experiment with alcoholic beverages and distribute the drinks to their younger peers. Such a scenario would increase the level of drug use among the school-going children. Believing in the final opposing view, 21 year old individuals appear to be more mature and responsible compared to 18 year olds, would be logic due to the fact that maturity is associated with alcohol-related injuries. 21 year old persons would tend to be more responsible when drinking to avoid any injury.
A major bias I faced while evaluating the situation is the differing family background and beliefs; some families do not permit their children to consume alcohol until they join college or after college which would mean they only drink at 19 years (DeJong " Blanchette, 2014). On the other hand, some families would not mind their children taking alcohol even at an early age. Thus, family influences the minimum age at which youth should drink. Another bias is the gender disparity in alcohol consumption; many men tend to start drinking at an early age compared to women. If all the genders were starting to drink at the same age, then the limit age for drinking should be raised.
My group identification had an impact on my perception of the drinking age limit. Most of my cohort and friends began to drink when we joined campus; we were averagely 19 years of age. Since we started drinking, none of us ever engaged in violent behaviors or injury since we ensured that we drunk responsibly and only on weekends when we are hanging out. Since there was no danger involved, I myself believe that starting to drink at 18 is not harmful to the society as long as it is done with caution.
Although my choice of supporting the topic remains the same, I partly believed the opposing viewpoints after playing the “Believing Game.” Drinking alcohol would truly cause harm, especially increased cases of road accidents when youths fail to drink responsibly. Youths who are within the age bracket of 18 and 20 may also be vulnerable to peer pressure; if influenced, they can end up drinking irresponsibly which may affect them. However, I still believe that reducing the age limit to drinking is necessary as 18 year olds are considered adults by the constitution.
References
Procon.org. (2018). Should the Drinking Age be Lowered from 21 to a Younger Age? Retrieved from https://drinkingage.procon.org/
DeJong, W., " Blanchette, J. (2014). Case closed: research evidence on the positive public health impact of the age 21 minimum legal drinking age in the United States. Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs, Supplement, (s17), 108-115.
Toumbourou, J. W., Kypri, K., Jones, S. C., " Hickie, I. B. (2014). Should the legal age for buying alcohol be raised to 21 years. Med J Aust, 200, 568-70.
