Introduction
Nearly everybody can concur that alcohol should not be permitted to children or teenagers below a specific age bracket. Alcohol use is risky, and if one utilized immaturely, the results could be dangerous to the consumers and those surrounding them. The idea of bringing down the age of drinking has been in debate, and as a result, some states went further to lower the drinking age. These States later recorded disastrous results, including increased highway deaths among teenagers. Eventually, these States quickly started levitating the minimum drinking age again. At around 1984, Congress approved the Uniform Drinking Age Act, which estimated States to adopt a minimum drinking age of 21 for alcohol. Immature drinking, explicitly below the age of 21, should not be allowable in every nation because it is incredibly dangerous.
In case one is to drink alcohol at a lower age than 21 years, there is a risk of turning into a full-on alcoholic faster. Most teenagers assume that it is casual to consume alcohol and to party always, which is entirely misguided. Alcohol is one of the most established and most utilized drugs, and in any case, one gets addicted to it, they use it as a substitute for regular drinks. It does not extend for long before a teenager becomes a heavy drinker. Several studies reveal that drinking regularly starts at a too young age. Eventually, alcohol stimulates a variety of drugs and substance abuse among teenagers. In case the drinking age was to be lowered to 18, the partying activities would not be changed at all.
Additionally, teenagers who start drinking proceedings at a young age are assured of having drug abuse problems and may get involved in risky sexual behavior. This is not the case with the individuals who start drinking at age 21 and above. Below is a personal narrative of an individual who turned into a full-on alcoholic.
There lived a boy called Kelvin in my community. He was very noble and intelligent. The community loved him for his ability to help his society and, more importantly, his generosity. Kelvin was a student and an employee. Everything about him was sound except his peers around him. He and his friends liked to drink alcohol. Alcohol became their daily water. People kept on advising them, but they kept on drinking more. They sometimes got mocked for sleeping on the streets after drinking. Kelvin lost his job due to customers' complaints about his strong alcoholic scent. He, who once had a beautiful life now, has a miserable one. Unfortunately, Kelvin contained to drink while still going to school. His change of character drove him away from his family since they have a strong belief that drinking is the devil's court. What baffles me is that none of his supposed friends who drunk with him stood by his side. Currently, he lives on the street, begging people for money before he can get something to eat.
Another motivation to maintain the drinking age at 21 is that drinking lowers the body response time, and as a result, the user has less control of their body. It is approximated that almost 90% of college offenses involve the usage of alcohol, especially by the assailant or both. Usually, if both partners are influenced by alcohol, they are both guaranteed to apply in unprotected sexual acts. Almost 8% of college students are involved in unprotected consensual sex every year. This is because they have been engaged in premature alcohol drinking. On the off chance that the States were to lower the drinking age, teenagers would have more unprotected sex and rape. These vices will happen because teenagers would get a chance to drink without fear.
The utmost reason to maintain the legitimate drinking age at 21 is because of the impacts it bears on the soundness of the consumer. Alcohol can cause harm to our physical states whenever it is utilized in massive amounts. Even if alcohol is used in little extents, it still has harmful effects on the body. Currently, there is much evidence to show how even a small amount of alcohol can be unsafe to the heart. Alcohol can cause long-term impacts on the heart because it causes the risk of coronary infection. Because the alcohol extends through the whole of the circulatory systems, it goes through every organ. Issues arising from obscuring memory while using alcohol and other substances would be because they influence the brain, which controls all body organs
A youngster's brain is delicate during teenage and alcohol hinders their judgment. Alcohol permits these individuals to react to situations they would not typically respond to controlling their bodies. The brain cells are yet developing right now. This way, when the brain is exposed to the synthetics contained in alcohol, it can result in undesirable permanent health harm and misguided decisions. When alcohol is induced into the body system, it is spread throughout the body and may cause various medical issues with long-term effects on the organs. Additionally, teenagers under the influence of alcohol end up making misguided decisions that might cause lifetime damage and regrets. Below is a personal narrative of an individual whose judgment was hindered by the use of alcohol
I once had a friend called Jennet. Jennet was not humble, but she was intelligent and kind. She always enjoyed speaking her viewpoints on a particular topic. Jennet was not an ideal student because she had a habit everyone saw as pessimistic. My friend liked to drink alcohol. If she doesn't take in alcohol, she cannot even stand or sit quietly. It made her always late to class. None of the teachers liked to engage with her because she wasn't the ideal student. She ever picked fights with other students. She started getting detention to being suspended from the school for months. Jennet never changed her behavior. One day, she got into a fight with one of the students and mistakenly hurt the person. The school decided to ban her completely. The good thing is, they allowed her to learn from home. Since she wasn't able to keep up with what teachers taught in school, she failed to graduate. Due to her feeling disgrace, she dropped out of school and started dealing in alcohol selling. Although she was intelligent, her life choice of engaging in drinking delayed her and deprived her of the great opportunities
Conclusion
In conclusion, alcohol is a risky substance, and individuals below the age of 21 lack the accountability and the correct responsibility to contain this substance. It is dangerous to the health, and putting this substance into one's system results in multiple occurrences for various things, including; health inconveniences, awful sexual conducts, misjudgments, etc. The drinking age should remain at 21 because by this age, we have developed some obligation, and the brain has developed as well.
Questions
- What source did you see as appropriate for publishing your editorial? (the publication you have chosen)
New York Times Health
- What is the audience for that source (not solely for your editorial)? the audience of the publication chosen
Young readers (below 30 years)
- Describe some of the characteristics of this audience from the publication you picked (age, interest, social,-economic status, viewpoints)
Generally, most readers of publications on the New York Times are college graduates. The regular audience for the New York Times appears to be younger (below 30 years) than the general public. Contrary, a drug editorial is a notable exception because it has audiences of all ages. Men dominate the list of regular readers of the New York Times drug publications as compared to women. By comparison, the targeted familiar audience on New York Times fluctuates between women and men of different age groups depending on the publication. Additionally, these readers are generally high earners in society. Typically, a majority of readers seem to be only trusting a few news sources compared to the existing sources addressing drugs
- What is characteristic of your publication in terms of; content? Structure? voice? (1st, 2nd, or 3rd person pronoun)
This publication is transparent, and the readers do not have to guess a thing. It is brief and up to a point to enable the readers to understand the content. Additionally, the purpose of the publication is to educate the reader on the significance of maintaining the drinking age (21) as it is currently. It also targets a young audience because they are the highest users of alcohol. The tone of this publication is sophisticated, persuasive, and appeals to the audience through words to achieve its purpose. The publication is a 1st person pronoun.
