Why do young people typically behave badly?

1 Answer
Apr 11, 2016

If you are under 25 years old, its quite possible that your brain is still under development and this behaviour may pass as you get older.

Explanation:

Brain scientists have discovered that the human brain does not fully and completely finish development until around the early 20's.

During this time, young people tend to act impulsively and don't always stop to think about what they are doing or saying. This is because the frontal cortex of your brain, as a fully developed adult, usually plays a gate-keeping role in stopping bad impulses to say things or do dumb things, before you blurt them out or act on them. In young people, the full wiring of the cortex to other brain regions is not yet finished, so young people have these kinds of tendencies. In other words, its probably part of normal brain development.

But of course, this is not an excuse to behave badly. Many psychologist are teaching Buddhist mindfulness meditation as one way to help people become more fully aware of their speech and actions before they blurt things out or act on impulses. You might give it a try.

If this behaviour continues in your late 20s, or you get more violent, or you have other symptoms, you should seek some professional help.