Poll: Drinking age changing to 21

[Serge A. Storms]

In all seriousness, most bars these days don't seem to be able to make a good martini, anyway. (not an appletini or a choclatini or any other faggy bastardization of the drink.) The drinking age shouldn't be increased for any reason, but if it is, you're better off mixing your own drinks, anyway.

 

[axia777]

It's not an age issue.. Its a culture problem. Getting drunk is seen as 'normal'... This perception is everywhere in western culture (English speaking anyway). This is a bad thing.

We need to change this view in media and culture, then and only then will society change.

Getting drunk in society has been normal for thousand of years. So what is your point? Why do we want it to change? Why is it a "bad thing"? Booze if done in moderation is one of life's great things. Hell, I had a couple of delicious pints to day of a Belgian White Wheat Ale and a Strong Golden Ale. Just two. But they were a good two.

Ok, maybe I took an extreme view there. I do like a drink myself, however it is a problem when people drink too much, then go punch some one in the face. Alcohol fuelled violence is a major problem. (However the lack of alcohol can also turn into rebellion against the state!)

Well, I agree with you there. Drunk violent asshats are always a plague upon society.

 

[Zing]

Now this I think is bulls***...

Push to lift drinking age to 21 in Australia

You can go to war and die at 18, you can smoke at 18, you can vote and pay taxes at 18 but you can't f***ing drink? What kind of logic is this? This is of course directed to the wonderfully conservative Australian government. I was wondering what every Australian or otherwise thinks of this move, whether it will be successful or if their aim of stopping teenage drinking will actually work >_>. Honestly i think the only way anything will change is if the parents influence THEIR children to behave sensibly and the government should give them the power to do so.

Well the ad campaigns that are targeted toward adults obviously aren't working and our stupid young people are still getting pissed and killing themselves. Either way I don't think it matters, parents will still give their kids alcohol or they'll just find some other way to get it.

I'm 20 and I really couldn't care less. I drink maybe once every 6 months and It's not that great. They should go for it for all I care.

 

[Racistman3d]

Meh, I don't care, I hate alcohol anyway, they can ban it for all I care.

 

[ParkourMcGhee]

If you actually managed to do that in England, ALL the students would rage. The government would lose 3/4 to all of their future workforce. I'm not even joking.

 

[Doug]

Not sure what the drinking age is in the UK, but I know you can join the army at 16 (though they won't deploy you until your 18).

 

[Good morning blues]

In my understanding, a lot of American states would lower their drinking ages if they could do so without getting their federal highway funding cut. Why Australia would want to imitate policy that Americans are backpedaling on is beyond me, but frankly the Aussies make a lot of decisions that are totally beyond me so I guess this is just par for the course.

 

[Kurokami]

Now this I think is bulls***...

Push to lift drinking age to 21 in Australia

You can go to war and die at 18, you can smoke at 18, you can vote and pay taxes at 18 but you can't f***ing drink? What kind of logic is this? This is of course directed to the wonderfully conservative Australian government. I was wondering what every Australian or otherwise thinks of this move, whether it will be successful or if their aim of stopping teenage drinking will actually work >_>. Honestly i think the only way anything will change is if the parents influence THEIR children to behave sensibly and the government should give them the power to do so.

Here your neighbors, the New Zealanders drink on the average age of 14 despite the drinking age being 18. The only difference I see having is for clubbing and drinking in public which personally I don't care for anyway. It sucks, but I don't think I'd care.

 

[Dusty Donuts]

Eh, I personally think that drinking is not exactly the best way to spend your night, considering you kill your brain, possibly wake up in the morning next to some woman (or man) you don't know, and you're both naked, you wake up with a splitting headache, you do things you regret like drive home and kill all your friends or glass someone in the face or kill them and then end up in a courtroom situation, you raise your blood pressure and end up spilling it all over yourself and the floor, red-faced and probably passed out.
Now, the consequences of NOT drinking in moderation are as follows.

Spoiler: GRAPHIC IMAGE -- DO NOT OPEN IF YOU ARE NOT OVER THREE

You die a horrible, painful death of people laughing at you and then realising you're dead only after a day and a half of hungover zombism. In any case, you can't stop this culture. It's like drugs, if they don't listen, let them kill themselves and they can go to hell and regret what they were doing for all eternity.

 

[MelziGurl]

I can't see what changing our drinking age to 21 is going to achieve. 21yr olds do the same shit the 18yr olds do and supposed mature aged adults tend to do alot worse. I don't drink that much these days anyway, I drank myself silly way before I hit 18 and I would imagine most other teens do as well.

 

[Disaster Button]

It's supposedly going to happen in the UK too.

 

[jboking]

I was wondering what every Australian or otherwise thinks of this move, whether it will be successful or if their aim of stopping teenage drinking will actually work >_>

Speaking as an American who is already under this law, it's bullshit and, in my opinion, increases the number of teenagers who drink because it is "cool and adult."

It is also rarely followed by anyone other than the people who distribute the liquor. I see parents buying their kids beer all the time so they can introduce their kids to drinking in a safe environment. I wouldn't care about it being 21 if it didn't obviously cause some problems with our youth.

 

[Megacherv]

It seems they're following America's lead.

"You can't drink, that's dangerous.
Have a gun, though."

I know Australia's kinda anti-gun now, but I thought it was funny, nonetheless.

I must ask, where did you get your avatar?

I'm probably not going to drink much even after 18 here in the UK, maybe a bit when I get to 25 (alcohol does most damage to the brain up to 16, then from about 21 to 25)

 

[cuddly kit]

I only just turned 18 recently, and i must say even though the first time i tried drinking i was 17 as soon as it was legal it was a lot less fun, i only had half a cruiser illegally (ie not under direct supervision) underage and i had a blast cause i knew that by being sensible and sticking to one drink for the whole party would be smart. So i tried to be responsible with it.... bout half an hour later we found out i could get drunk off half a cruiser and that having monkey bars and other stuff you can climb up to escape from people who are trying to make sure you can't hurt yourself is a bad thing. At least i think that was it...mmm blackout.
But my friends made sure i didn't get a hangover, yay for half a litre of water!

Anyway if it applied to those who could already drink ( i.e.me ) then there might be a massive problem, i wrote letters to people complaining about the potential logging in tasmanina, i don't even live in that state...so if they change the drinnking age they had better be ready for a lot of hate mail..

 

[Diablini]

People drink when 14, when the limit is 18. So what the hell is gonna change if they raise the limit to 21? Are people gonna start drinking at the age of 15?

 

[jackknife402]

Actually the idea behind the 21 drinking age is that alcohol affects the brain(which we all know it does) however governments have scientific evidence that support the idea that people are not fully mentally developed until they reach the age of 20-23. So officials have decided it's just best to place the drinking age there in order to prevent brain damage due to alcohol consumption.

Now I live in the USofA. I've just turned 21. Alcohol really doesn't do anything else but loosen you up a bit, and in these times with jobs(over here at least) being sought after by every bum around with to few of them to be divided up, it's nice to have a couple of beers or shots of jager at night. However I could really go either way with having it or not, sure it makes me feel good, being about to relax a bit more, but I feel I was doing just fine without it.

And really folks, what's more fun, throwing up all over your $1200 computer and frying it, or staying sober enough to not have to blow a grand and a half cuz you felt like being sick?

 

[Mad World]

It seems they're following America's lead.

"You can't drink, that's dangerous.
Have a gun, though."

I know Australia's kinda anti-gun now, but I thought it was funny, nonetheless.

Heh, I got a good laught out of it. xD

Also, I just noticed your name. Rather befitting, no?

Anyway, I have mixed feelings on the subject. I'll sleep on it.

... the idea behind the 21 drinking age is...

Interesting. I didn't know that. If the evidence really does paint a realistic picture of the reality of the minimum age of having a fully developed mind, then maybe this is for the better.

I'll go with "Indifferent."

 

[Ziadaine_v1legacy]

Its bad enough we dont have +R18 games but now this? Has the government actually noticed not just kids but mostly guys in groups that go around and bash people up? Whats that Kevin Rudd, you want to fix the economy? well this sure 'aint the right direction.

Well if the liberal party get their act together, and promise these four things...

1. R18+ rating for games
2. No internet filters
3. Up-to-date internet
4. Proper funding for Australian game developers

Then they'll get my vote.

However we all know politicians don't keep promises, and the liberal party is too busy name calling to come up with anything constructive...

Maybe the Greens can step in?

hebdomad for PM 2011~

 

[willard3]

Haha...Its funny having someone complain about it, because in America, its 21. Can't say that I feel for you, since its all I've known. I don't drink anyways so the law doesn't really matter to me.

Yay!

First actual drink I had was 2 weeks before my 21st, and it was a Mike's Hard Lemonade. On my 21st, I had a martini.

Didn't drink at all my senior year of college.

Last year, when I was on my own for the first time, I bought a six-pack of Mike's in late August. Finished it in March.

The most I've ever had to drink in one night is the equivalent of four beers.


So....yeah, can't really sympathize with the OP.

 

[HentMas]

boo hoo... good thing i can drink at 18

wait! i am 23!!

that makes it i care less TWICE!!


no, seriously??, though luck man, move to somewhere less strict and you will be fine