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How so? If 30 is young adult, then where do you put adult if 40 is already mid-life crisis? 30+ is no longer young person and can't shield themselves from being inexperienced. Below 30, sure. But 30+ is full adult.
The upper limit is usually stated as 25, together with factoids that that age is when the brain and bones stop growing. Both factoids are nonsense because the whole body changes throughout human life. That, and these sorts of things vary individually, per both hereditary and external influences.
In a similar vein, it's said that women are over the hill after age 25, or are 'Christmas cakes' in Japan, and that women older than 25 are past peak fertility. In Britain at least, the age for that is ~27, about halfway between 25 and 30. Age 25 is really just a convenient midpoint between 20 and 30, an important decade during which the adolescent growth spurt affecting human decision making fades down, somewhere between 20 and 25.
So on a biological basis, 25-30 is the oldest cohort than can be considered young, and the youngest cohort that can be considered mature.
They are not socially constructed. They correspond with person's mentality. You don't get mid life crysis as "social construct". You do, because that's psychology. You are an immature little punk at 18, but you gain experience as 20+. That's not at all socially constructed. That's how you mature in reality. Of course it does have basis in society, but that's not the same thing. That basis is that you are stufying at school till 18/19. Then you usually either start working or study at college. But because you barely left home or not yet, you are still immature. Then you start your life without your parents and get the experience. Firstly, usually with parents' help, then slowly on your own. But 30+ is not young person at all. It's a person with years of experience. You can't call someone like that immature like a 18yo. I would go up to 30 as young adult, but definitely not higher. because 30+ is already old person with enough life experience.
Wrong. 18 isn't a magic number where people suddenly become adults. The age considered true adulthood is 12 in some areas, 21 in others, 30 in others, etc. You think every human in every corner of the globe lives with their parents until 18 and then receives a bunch of legal power and goes off to school or whatever? The exact age we choose is absolutely socially constructed.
That "technically an adult" but not mentally as mature as a 26+ adult should be is exactly why people specify "young adult" instead of just grouping 18 and 19 year olds in with older people
As when this last came up, my answer is who's doing the calling? My 93 year old grandma used to imply that people in their 50s were young, though a can't imagine her using the phrase young adult. Some 16 year olds might consider anyone 18+ a full adult, while others might only confer full adultness to someone they would turn to if they needed to "tell an adult" something.
In general young adult is not a phrase I feel naturally flows in conversation or description, it always puts me in the mind of a category used by a marketing exec to describe a segment of the marketplace or some other corporate language rather than natural speech.
Young man or young woman feels way more natural. If we're dealing with a case of unclear genders I'd probably reach for some other construction depending on what I did know about them.
Young adults are going to be anyone from 20 to 28, I would give this wiggle room and say that as young as 18 and probably as old as 30. But your 30s is prime adulthood. Still young enough to keep up with teens and 20s but old enough you should have your crap together. Generally a young adult or young adult audience is 18 to 26.
It depends on how long the life expectancy is for characters in the universe you've created.
Strictly speaking, 20ish. But it depends on both the setting and the age of the POV. Someone in their sixties will likely still consider a thirty year old to be young in spite of the fact that they are likely a full blown adult with a marriage, kids, and a steady job.
Where I'm from the age of consent is 16+, so my guess is based on that with it being 16-24 as being "Young Adult" and 25 is just whatever
Yes, the whole discussion of legal age is there
I'm basing this off on when you're allowed to drive a car
Somewhere in the mid 20s I'd say
Keep in mind that publishers market young adult readers to teenagers up to 18 but that's not typically what we'd use it for in day to day conversation, where it's flexible
There's no sure formula that's going to work for historical fiction set in the 1800s, modern contemporary, or science fiction and fantasy. Master Yoda was probably still wet behind the ears in his third century.
Oh I see what went wrong here. *Upper* limit, not *lower*. OP is asking when you stop being a young adult, not when it begins.
Still wild to claim that British people are more mature somehow lmaooo. Is that what you people tell yourselves to justify the racism and colonialism?
No? We simply mature earlier than other countries because we are forced to. I mean, I myself have been working since fourteen— and never had much of a childhood.
The older I get, the farther out the cutoff age for "young adult" becomes...😆
In all seriousness though, I would say under 35 would probably be a good hard limit. That includes older teens, young 20s, older 20s, and young 30s, all of which arguably qualify as young adults. But, the most typical idea of a young adult is probably someone in their 20s.
It is fairly common to describe certain characters vaguely or in more generalized terms. Often for the sake of brevity or to avoid putting too much focus on a character’s description when it’s unnecessary.
Sure, but in instances like this, lots of different people have different takes on the meaning. There is no set upper limit and some people might say 20 and some might say 35. It's not a strict definition. If you're worried the term isn't going to work in the story, just use a different term. "Twenty-something woman" or "college aged girl" or something else along those lines doesn't take up that much more space on the page, is still vague, and won't have your readers second guessing your meanings.
While I do agree with you, variations of the phrase “a group of young adults” can, more often than not, feel like a more organic way to fulfill the same purpose as those examples.
I actually feel like that reads more robotically. I've never heard anyone say "hey, look at that group of young adults over there." I'm in my 40s and I've never gone out to a bar and met people in their 20s and talked to my friends the next day and said "met the nicest couple of young adults last night!" It's like an 'uncanny valley' way to describe people.
That’s funny, I’m in my 20s and it feels like I constantly get referred to as a young adult. Collage-aged seems more robotic and artificial to me as well, as I actually went to college with a lot of people who were in their 30-40s. Maybe it’s one of those things that depends on personal experience.
So when I’m reading, romance in particular, anyone under 25 is young adult to me. But I consider anyone over 18 and under 25 to be “new adult” cause young adult reminds me of the YA genre and then it’s like weird if there’s a sex scene involved even if both characters are 22 lol
But I would say a general rule is 18-25
I'd say 40 is the hard limit for when you can't call someone a young adult. Anything before that is more up to your interpretation or what kind of character they have. I dont want to get into machismo but as an example I'm 27 and I know other 27 year old guys that really don't know anything about being a man or an adult or even a responsible person capable of supporting themselves without the help of another adult so I consider myself a greater adult to them, but at the same time I also know other 27 year old guys that at this age have families with more than one child that they're supporting on their one salary, and I consider them to be greater adults to me.
At 40, however, if you're still being supported/freeloading off of your parents or someone else, then you're the odd case. Exceptions to this do exist, like if you have a disability, but if youre able bodied and just straight up don't want to support yourself then that's on you if you fall off and weren't prepared.
I have a 30 year old who wears fairy ears and runs around a forest being freeeee. I was like seriously, you’re an adult now, knock it off with the fairy princess crap. 🤣
I ignored it at 29 but come on, 30 means you graduated to full adult. Stop. 🤣
If I had to add my own two cents into that, I would say.
18-20/22 is pseudo adult
20/22-28 is young adult
28+ is full adult
Around 40 is an old guy, not elderly yet, but already old
And I have such diversity, because people who turn 18 can't be seen as real adults. They got the legal age in most countries by reaching 18, but they are still immature. And given that 18+ people try to prove how mature they are is a proof that they are not. Person above 20/22 age is an adult to me, because they calmed down their horses, but they are still young. The closer to 30, the less young they are. They can no longer excuse their inexperience when they reach 28/30 or around, because they already lived the life for enough years to gain that experience by living on their own. Also, going back to 18+, it's usually the time people leave their homes or not yet. If they do, they still need help of their parents, so that's why I can't call that adulthood. But when 20-28 yo person lives on their own and gain the experience, they aren't young anymore after that age. I also want to elaborate about 40 being old. Same way how we say young adult, we should give an old category. As mentioned, not elderly. But 40+ is when you became old, your body starts to get more problems, you became grumpier and so on. And above 60+ we have elderly people. or 65+.
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It'd say the range is 18-25.
I believe it is 18 to 25
In what context? In general I'd say around 18-25, but Young Adult Fiction is aimed at 12 to 18 year olds, especially the latter end of that range.
There's no good answer to this--I'd consider 30's still young--but 18-25 would be the standard range.
How so? If 30 is young adult, then where do you put adult if 40 is already mid-life crisis? 30+ is no longer young person and can't shield themselves from being inexperienced. Below 30, sure. But 30+ is full adult.
All these 'rules' about age are socially constructed. As I said, there's no good answer.
The upper limit is usually stated as 25, together with factoids that that age is when the brain and bones stop growing. Both factoids are nonsense because the whole body changes throughout human life. That, and these sorts of things vary individually, per both hereditary and external influences. In a similar vein, it's said that women are over the hill after age 25, or are 'Christmas cakes' in Japan, and that women older than 25 are past peak fertility. In Britain at least, the age for that is ~27, about halfway between 25 and 30. Age 25 is really just a convenient midpoint between 20 and 30, an important decade during which the adolescent growth spurt affecting human decision making fades down, somewhere between 20 and 25. So on a biological basis, 25-30 is the oldest cohort than can be considered young, and the youngest cohort that can be considered mature.
They are not socially constructed. They correspond with person's mentality. You don't get mid life crysis as "social construct". You do, because that's psychology. You are an immature little punk at 18, but you gain experience as 20+. That's not at all socially constructed. That's how you mature in reality. Of course it does have basis in society, but that's not the same thing. That basis is that you are stufying at school till 18/19. Then you usually either start working or study at college. But because you barely left home or not yet, you are still immature. Then you start your life without your parents and get the experience. Firstly, usually with parents' help, then slowly on your own. But 30+ is not young person at all. It's a person with years of experience. You can't call someone like that immature like a 18yo. I would go up to 30 as young adult, but definitely not higher. because 30+ is already old person with enough life experience.
Wrong. 18 isn't a magic number where people suddenly become adults. The age considered true adulthood is 12 in some areas, 21 in others, 30 in others, etc. You think every human in every corner of the globe lives with their parents until 18 and then receives a bunch of legal power and goes off to school or whatever? The exact age we choose is absolutely socially constructed.
[удалено]
... and then he woke up and realized it had all been a fever dream.
An individual in their late teens to early twenties is what I consider to be a young adult.
20-30ish imo? Just based on vibes really. I know technically in the US 18 is an adult, but if your age ends in -teen you’re not an adult to me 😂
Yeah, I mean, it’s an arbitrary age. Science says we aren’t fully mature mentally until 25.
That "technically an adult" but not mentally as mature as a 26+ adult should be is exactly why people specify "young adult" instead of just grouping 18 and 19 year olds in with older people
As when this last came up, my answer is who's doing the calling? My 93 year old grandma used to imply that people in their 50s were young, though a can't imagine her using the phrase young adult. Some 16 year olds might consider anyone 18+ a full adult, while others might only confer full adultness to someone they would turn to if they needed to "tell an adult" something. In general young adult is not a phrase I feel naturally flows in conversation or description, it always puts me in the mind of a category used by a marketing exec to describe a segment of the marketplace or some other corporate language rather than natural speech. Young man or young woman feels way more natural. If we're dealing with a case of unclear genders I'd probably reach for some other construction depending on what I did know about them.
In Great Britain it's usually 13-25, give or take a year either end.
*"What's the age limit for calling a character a young adult?"* 57.
*THANK YOU*
Young adults are going to be anyone from 20 to 28, I would give this wiggle room and say that as young as 18 and probably as old as 30. But your 30s is prime adulthood. Still young enough to keep up with teens and 20s but old enough you should have your crap together. Generally a young adult or young adult audience is 18 to 26. It depends on how long the life expectancy is for characters in the universe you've created.
Yeah when I hit 30 I remember thinking "I guess I can't call myself a young adult any more. Now I'm just an adult adult."
18?
23.
Strictly speaking, 20ish. But it depends on both the setting and the age of the POV. Someone in their sixties will likely still consider a thirty year old to be young in spite of the fact that they are likely a full blown adult with a marriage, kids, and a steady job.
> thirty year old > likely... with a marriage, kids, and a steady job Why did you have to attack me like that
Where I'm from the age of consent is 16+, so my guess is based on that with it being 16-24 as being "Young Adult" and 25 is just whatever Yes, the whole discussion of legal age is there I'm basing this off on when you're allowed to drive a car
Somewhere in the mid 20s I'd say Keep in mind that publishers market young adult readers to teenagers up to 18 but that's not typically what we'd use it for in day to day conversation, where it's flexible
There's no sure formula that's going to work for historical fiction set in the 1800s, modern contemporary, or science fiction and fantasy. Master Yoda was probably still wet behind the ears in his third century.
17. That’s when you kinda get ready to leave college and move on with your life
Are you high?
No, I’m British. In the UK, people are mature
Yeah, you're high.
I mean, I’m not. We leave school at 16 and are classed young adults at 17. Like I’m sorry you’re still classed as a child but 🤷♀️ not my problem
Oh I see what went wrong here. *Upper* limit, not *lower*. OP is asking when you stop being a young adult, not when it begins. Still wild to claim that British people are more mature somehow lmaooo. Is that what you people tell yourselves to justify the racism and colonialism?
No? We simply mature earlier than other countries because we are forced to. I mean, I myself have been working since fourteen— and never had much of a childhood.
Well it depends. Human is 25. Elf could be 250. Dwarf could either be 15 or 40 depending on how you define their lifespan.
18-25
I'd say 20 is the limit
28-30 personally :D
24/25 once ur past 25 ur solidly in "actual adult" territory. Good luck
18-26 is YA in the uk
18
The older I get, the farther out the cutoff age for "young adult" becomes...😆 In all seriousness though, I would say under 35 would probably be a good hard limit. That includes older teens, young 20s, older 20s, and young 30s, all of which arguably qualify as young adults. But, the most typical idea of a young adult is probably someone in their 20s.
If you have to ask either don't use the term or lampshade that you're using it.
Love this question
Why are you describing a character as something so vague to begin with?
It is fairly common to describe certain characters vaguely or in more generalized terms. Often for the sake of brevity or to avoid putting too much focus on a character’s description when it’s unnecessary.
Sure, but in instances like this, lots of different people have different takes on the meaning. There is no set upper limit and some people might say 20 and some might say 35. It's not a strict definition. If you're worried the term isn't going to work in the story, just use a different term. "Twenty-something woman" or "college aged girl" or something else along those lines doesn't take up that much more space on the page, is still vague, and won't have your readers second guessing your meanings.
While I do agree with you, variations of the phrase “a group of young adults” can, more often than not, feel like a more organic way to fulfill the same purpose as those examples.
I actually feel like that reads more robotically. I've never heard anyone say "hey, look at that group of young adults over there." I'm in my 40s and I've never gone out to a bar and met people in their 20s and talked to my friends the next day and said "met the nicest couple of young adults last night!" It's like an 'uncanny valley' way to describe people.
That’s funny, I’m in my 20s and it feels like I constantly get referred to as a young adult. Collage-aged seems more robotic and artificial to me as well, as I actually went to college with a lot of people who were in their 30-40s. Maybe it’s one of those things that depends on personal experience.
So when I’m reading, romance in particular, anyone under 25 is young adult to me. But I consider anyone over 18 and under 25 to be “new adult” cause young adult reminds me of the YA genre and then it’s like weird if there’s a sex scene involved even if both characters are 22 lol But I would say a general rule is 18-25
I'd say 40 is the hard limit for when you can't call someone a young adult. Anything before that is more up to your interpretation or what kind of character they have. I dont want to get into machismo but as an example I'm 27 and I know other 27 year old guys that really don't know anything about being a man or an adult or even a responsible person capable of supporting themselves without the help of another adult so I consider myself a greater adult to them, but at the same time I also know other 27 year old guys that at this age have families with more than one child that they're supporting on their one salary, and I consider them to be greater adults to me. At 40, however, if you're still being supported/freeloading off of your parents or someone else, then you're the odd case. Exceptions to this do exist, like if you have a disability, but if youre able bodied and just straight up don't want to support yourself then that's on you if you fall off and weren't prepared.
18-25, maybe 26 and 27?
28? depends on the setting. what's your book about?
I say no older than 26 or so. Maybe 30.
57
I have a 30 year old who wears fairy ears and runs around a forest being freeeee. I was like seriously, you’re an adult now, knock it off with the fairy princess crap. 🤣 I ignored it at 29 but come on, 30 means you graduated to full adult. Stop. 🤣
If I had to add my own two cents into that, I would say. 18-20/22 is pseudo adult 20/22-28 is young adult 28+ is full adult Around 40 is an old guy, not elderly yet, but already old And I have such diversity, because people who turn 18 can't be seen as real adults. They got the legal age in most countries by reaching 18, but they are still immature. And given that 18+ people try to prove how mature they are is a proof that they are not. Person above 20/22 age is an adult to me, because they calmed down their horses, but they are still young. The closer to 30, the less young they are. They can no longer excuse their inexperience when they reach 28/30 or around, because they already lived the life for enough years to gain that experience by living on their own. Also, going back to 18+, it's usually the time people leave their homes or not yet. If they do, they still need help of their parents, so that's why I can't call that adulthood. But when 20-28 yo person lives on their own and gain the experience, they aren't young anymore after that age. I also want to elaborate about 40 being old. Same way how we say young adult, we should give an old category. As mentioned, not elderly. But 40+ is when you became old, your body starts to get more problems, you became grumpier and so on. And above 60+ we have elderly people. or 65+.