Teen curfews

[ilikeverin]

I'm apathetic towards teen curfews.  I can see the arguments for both sides, but I almost never have a reason to be out much past the curfew time anyway.  I don't really see why people get that worked up about it.  Aren't there more important things to worry about?

[ilikeverin]

Gabu et al,

I don't believe that curfews are in place because of violence, necessarily, just criminal behavior in general.  And though perhaps it's true that teenagers have no natural inclination towards violence specifically, it is true that we are more likely to make irrational and/or unplanned actions.  This is because our frontal lobes (the part of the brain that plans and coordinates behavior) are less developed, meaning we are less likely to reason out our actions and will instead depend more on the more developed regions of our brain, such as emotional centers and the like.  Though not inherently criminal or violent, it's easy to see how doing such things could translate into criminal or violent behavior; whereas an adult might think about the consequences of his actions before, say, keying an enemy's car or getting involved in a nasty fight, teenagers will be more likely to live in the moment.

The Sydney Morning Herald had an article about this, the Boston Globe's article on a local seminar has some more information, and of course Wikipedia is always your friend.

I'm surprised no one else brought this up.

[ilikeverin]

Fundamentally different in what aspect?  They grow up to no longer be that age?  And what difference does that make?  Maybe I'm being dense, but I still really don't get what you're trying to say.

Did you read my post earlier in this thread or is neuroscience not important to you?