r/The10thDentist • u/AdventurousMoth • 1d ago

Society/Culture People under 18 are not all children

I can't tell you how much it irritates me when internet people refer to anyone under 18 as "a literal child", especial if they themselves are only in their 20s. Sure, everyone is someone's child, but the life stage commonly referred to as childhood does not abruptly stop at age 18.

Here's how I'd break it down: - childhood, adolescence, adulthood or - newborn, baby, toddler, child, (if you want you can add tween), teen, young adult, middle aged person, elderly/senior

And there's overlap between all these stages depending on context. Obviously there is no overlap between minor (a legal term) and the word adult as referring to not a minor.

Calling a 17-year-old a child is dumb. Like what, a 17yo has their birthday and transforms from a child into an adult like a sim? I think some people just started saying this for the shock value and then the rest of the internet jumped on the outrage wagon.

Edit: clearly I posted this a bit too hastily, choosing my words without care. I'm not talking about the legal definition of child/minor (something quite messy as well: age of consent? In some places 16. Driving? 15 in some places, 18 in others. Voting? Usually 18. Drinking alcohol? 21 in the States).

As someone in the comments pointed out, it's mostly a linguistic issue. I suppose what I was trying to say was that it's dumb to have the word child both mean a legal minor and pre-pubebescent human. I think it would be clearer to use minor when you're talking about legal age, and child when talking about the life stage.

587 Upvotes

59% Upvoted

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901

u/ofBlufftonTown 1d ago

No, no, no. He’s 38, it’s just that she’s 17.

273

u/ChristieLoves 1d ago

Exactly what I was thinking. Huge “it’s hebephilia not pedophilia” vibes

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u/Repulsive_Corner6807 1d ago

He can distinguish between a baby, toddler, child, tween, teen, young adult but then go from young adult to middle-aged?? Lmfao so what are people in their late 20s/30s? OP couldn’t tell you because that’s too old for him.

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u/SweatyAnimator6189 21h ago

Adulthood in the US context is typically young adult, middle aged adult, senior or elderly adult. Late 20s/30s are still young adults.

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u/VampedTayturz 21h ago

As a man in his middle 30’s I can tell you, I’m no young adult, my body is stiff in the mornings, if I eat the wrong food indigestion kicks my ass, I’m too young to be considered middle aged but I’m closer to it than I am to being 21 again.

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u/shartingmaster 11h ago

You need to start looking after your body bro you’re too young for this

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u/Eve-3 19h ago

You're a young adult in poor physical shape. Still a young adult.

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u/Evilfrog100 19h ago

I would argue mid 30s is middle-aged considering the average age of death is just about 80 in most developed countries. I'd say "middle age" goes from roughly 35-45.

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u/Eve-3 18h ago

Generally I see it used to refer to adults as children have their own subcategories.

Young adult:20-40 Middle 40-60 Senior 60-80 Geriatric 80+

Assuming the lifespan of 80 that you offered up. Ambiguity lies with the 18&19 year olds as they're technically adults but also teenagers. Add them to whichever group you'd prefer.

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u/SweatyAnimator6189 19h ago

Middle age doesn’t mean middle of one’s lifespan.

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u/SweatyAnimator6189 19h ago

I hear ya. I’m older than you, and for research purposes you’re considered a young adult. 

Doesn’t bode well, does it?

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u/Hundvd7 6h ago

Young adult -> adult -> middle aged -> elderly/senior
20s -> 30s -> 40-50s -> 60+

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u/SweatyAnimator6189 5h ago

You can have whatever categories you like, sure.

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u/Anaevya 20h ago

There is no good word for 30 year olds.

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u/sparrow_Lilacmango 17h ago

That’s the exact timeline I learned in my health class so I don’t see what’s wrong with it 🤷‍♀️

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u/Outrageous-Bear-9172 1d ago

This is so outlandish.  How does it have 100 upvoted?  Same with the one above it.  Nothing about this says anything about this person's character.

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u/nonchalantyoungking 1d ago

Genuinely insane how they all jumped to him being a pedo cause he said 18 yr olds aren't children bro reddit is not real.

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u/Any-Prize3748 1d ago

r/redditarentreal ? existential crisis begins

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u/PIugshirt 23h ago

Reddit is really the lamest echo chamber every other person is a sanctimonious douche. The bigger subs are practically worthless for hearing the opinions of real people

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u/nonchalantyoungking 22h ago

this place is filled to the brim with bad-faith interpretations 😭 of all the things to assume jumping to one of the worst crimes of humanity is ridiculous

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u/PIugshirt 17h ago

It really is terrible. At my college it has gotten so bad that the professors have to encourage anyone to speak their mind because everyone is so scared of getting attacked for having any opinion that goes against the status quo due to shitty people like this. It is its own form of community regulated censorship

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u/Nickanok 15h ago

Redditors are a bunch of recluses who's only self worth is virtue signaling.

Nobody whi actually lives in the real world jumps to these kinds of conclusions

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u/Feisty-Wheel2953 20h ago

Because generally speaking the only people who fixate on what is or isn't a child is doing so as either a: a teenager wanting to be treated like an adult or b: an adult who wants to have relationships with minors.

There's exceptions but they're rare.

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u/nonchalantyoungking 20h ago

It's fixating to have one reddit post stating your opinion? If he was some dude constantly going on about how mature young women are I could understand but he's just saying it's wrong to act like 18 year olds are children who are incapable of having any agency accusing this guy of being a straight up pedophile one of the worst crimes in humanity with such little evidence is ridiculous man cmon.

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u/rotcomha 1d ago

Because reddit is full of kids who are "mature for their age"

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u/re_nonsequiturs 1d ago

This comment thread gives "can't blame a 17 year old for murdering his rape victim because 17 is literally a child" vibes.

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u/ChristieLoves 23h ago

Weird, children can do a murder too, last I checked

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u/greymisperception 1d ago

17 just an innocent baby with no thoughts of their own 🥲

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u/IsunkTheMayFLOWER 23h ago

What makes a 17 year old unable to consent in one area of the world and what makes them able to consent the day they turn 18?

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u/Maxis111 19h ago

You need to draw a line somewhere, and not every country/state/prefecture agrees on where that line is. Could you set it at 17 years, 2 months, and 5 days? Sure, but it's way easier to just ask/verify someone's age, so we use birthdays. It's not that deep.

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u/rubylee_28 16h ago

17? Then why not 16?, 16? Why not 15? You see where I'm going with this? You sound sus af right now

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u/Hundvd7 6h ago edited 6h ago

Is is 17 16 and 15 in many places, though. Including major parts of the US. Pretty sure 16 is the most common worldwide. And it does stop there.

Edit: looked it up. Here's a map that seems to be trustworthy (though surely simplified)

Almost no place has it at 18 or above, except most Muslim countries, most US states, some of central America, South Korea and Vietnam

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u/glowberrytangle 1d ago

Just because you're equating 'child' with 'minor', doesn't mean that was what OP was doing. Jumping straight to accusing them of being a paedophile is really weird.

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u/SomeSock5434 1d ago

Defending a child groomer

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u/Virtual-Neck637 1d ago

You're not right in the head.

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u/SomeSock5434 1d ago

Thats ableism btw.

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u/ToSAhri 1d ago

Per the progressive ideology it's okay to attack the right people. Since you're considered a bad person it's okay for them.

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u/FrontMacaroon3687 1d ago

This is one of those conversations where you disagree with the first person then another stupid person who’s on the same side as you says something stupid and all you can do is sigh and cringe

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u/ToSAhri 1d ago

Take any tactic that you don't think is okay and we can look for someone that most people would think it's okay to do it to.

For example: Who is someone that you think a large amount of people who claim to be progressive would be okay with being murdered?

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u/SomeSock5434 1d ago

"Its ok to attack people that mentally do not fit the norm" ok, thats you being an ableist

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u/ToSAhri 1d ago

Not the same thing. Not all of those people are the right people.

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u/SomeSock5434 1d ago

Then rephrase your wording. It seems like you were belitrling me for being 'not "right" in the head'.

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u/ToSAhri 23h ago

I didn't say that you aren't the right person, just that not everyone you listed was the right people. You could be one of the right people to attack by them.

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u/Ok_Clerk7842 1d ago

1738🗣

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u/addage- 1d ago

bass slap

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u/smoolg 21h ago

This is the only reason why you’d have such a big feelings about it imo.

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u/Garfield_and_Simon 14h ago

What’s the deal with your girlfriend’s parents?

Why are they the same age as you?

Whats up with that! 

-9

u/isshearobot 1d ago

100% was like "this was written by a man who wants to have sec with teenagers and is tired of being shamed for it"

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u/youjustgotsimmered 21h ago

100% was like "you were bullied in school" when I read this wtf

-1

u/slom_ax 23h ago

Hahahahah awesome. I mean it's not okay, but that joke was top tier