Coming of age
In the United States, teenagers are allowed to drive at 16 in all states except New Jersey, which requires drivers to be 17 and older, and sometimes receive the responsibility of owning their own car. Teenagers may drive at age 15 in Idaho and Montana. At 16, teenagers are also old enough to donate blood and work in most establishments. At 18 one is legally considered an adult and can vote and join the military. The legal age for purchasing and consuming alcohol and recreational marijuana, the latter of which is only legal in the District of Columbia, Colorado, Oregon, Washington, California, Hawaii, Massachusetts, Nevada, and Alaska, is 21. The legal age for purchasing and consuming tobacco products is 18 in most states; 19 in Alabama, Alaska and Utah; and 21 in California, New Jersey, Oregon, Hawaii and Maine. Multiple localities have also raised the minimum purchase age independent of state laws.
Emerging adulthood and early adulthood
Emerging adulthood is a phase of the life span between adolescence and full-fledged adulthood which encompasses late adolescence and early adulthood, proposed by Jeffrey Arnett in a 2000 article in the "American Psychologist". It primarily describes people living in developed countries, but it is also experienced by young people in urban wealthy families in the Global South. The term describes young adults who do not have children, do not live in their own home, or do not have sufficient income to become fully independent. Arnett suggests emerging adulthood is the distinct period between 18 and 25 years of age where adolescents become more independent and explore various life possibilities. Arnett argues that this developmental period can be isolated from adolescence and young adulthood. Emerging adulthood is a new demographic, is contentiously changing, and some believe that twenty-somethings have always struggled with "identity exploration, instability, self-focus, and feeling in-between". Arnett called this period "roleless role" because emerging adults do a wide variety of activities, but are not constrained by any sort of "role requirements". The developmental theory is highly controversial within the developmental field, and developmental psychologists argue over the legitimacy of Arnett's theories and methods.