Age Identification

Just recently; at Esher cinema, I was asked for identification to get into a 12 film, when the week before I had managed to get into an 18 without any questioning. When asking for child train tickets, teenagers are only believed to be under the age of 16 when in school uniform. Is this fair or should the adults of today recognise people’s true ages?

As I walked to Richmond station last weekend, I saw a policeman ignore several girls all smoking, they were clearly underage. He then approached a group of men holding beers outside a bar and asked to see their ID! Shop keepers have chatted up 13 year olds thinking they were 20; offering to give them discounts on Smirnoff Vodka and their newest White wine. Isn’t it a bit disturbing for children at the age 13 to be introduced to things like this? How is it that someone can get mistaken as seven years older than they actually are?

I want this misinterpretation of age to stop. Teenagers are growing up too fast because they can get away with being 21. the governments solution: ‘give the kids ID’.

The thought of having to carry identification doesn’t appeal to the average teen in London… why does a bus driver have a right to see all of my details to check my age just because I forgot my oyster card? However some sort of identification is needed. Around London and its surrounding areas, there are several supermarkets and off-licences that will serve underage people. Not because they chose to, because they can’t tell how old the buyer is.

Surely with all of these problems, the government would come up with an age ‘chart’ or a way to tell how old a teen actually is. How can they though, without exploiting our identity? In conclusion, for teenagers’ safety, I think we should be given ID cards with a picture and date of birth to prove that we are under 16 to get on buses and that we are over 12 to get into a film.