From sex to alcohol, American teenagers are in no rush to grow up | Jean Hannah Edelstein

On average, American teens today are not growing up as fast as previous generations. Is that a good thing?

Kids today: they just don't drink and have sex like they used to. According to a new study, young people are defying the expectations of adults yet again by failing to accelerate themselves towards adulthood with the characteristic speed of their teenage predecessors.

A new study published in Child Development, drawing on longitudinal data from millions of American teens between 1976 and 2016, finds that "in terms of adult activities, 18-year-olds now look like 15-year-olds once did".