AMA10: Should The Drinking Age Be Lowered To 18?

Kristie got to the bottom of the drinking age debate in her AMA this week on Urban.

Vidya Narayanan
Jul 25, 2017 · 3 min read
  1. Many people in the world drink earlier in life!

Many countries have the legal drinking age as 18. It is 21 in the US (in case you were wondering)!

2. Old enough for war but not beer?!

At 18, we vote, join the military, take on student debt and more. But, we aren’t mature enough to enjoy alcohol?! Highly debated point.

3. 60% against lowering the drinking age!

More than 60% of the AMA participants thought that the legal drinking age should not be lowered.

4. Introducing alcohol at home

Michaela was introduced to alcohol at home when she was 18. She felt she learnt how to drink responsibly because of that. Adam countered with a study that showed otherwise.

5. Drinking in Europe!

Anna was an exchange student in Spain and had her first drink at 19! Drinking in Europe came with learning responsibilities.

6. Increasing drinking age to 25?!

Some cities in India increased the drinking age to 25 or even 30, due to increased reports of rape and violence. However, no statistical changes have been reported in rape counts since.

7. Educate to drink responsibly.

Families and colleges need to step up the support and education on substance abuse, including alcohol.

8. Host college parties in safe places

Martha argued that colleges should host parties in safe environments to avoid parties going out of control.

9. Most people hate the taste of alcohol at first!

On average, it takes a dozen times before they start developing a taste for it!

10. Fun fact: Aiden is 24 and has never had alcohol so far!!

He’s happy drinking water instead!

Snippets from the AMA below. Don’t miss the next one on Urban!

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This is a first of the AMA10 series, bringing the top 10 highlights from select AMAs happening on Urban every day.

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Vidya Narayanan

Written by

Building the future of video (Rumbl)! In past life (@Google, @Qualcomm), I built stuff that you’ve likely used!

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Best of AMA from UrbanAMA: politics, social, journalism and life!

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