I am so confused. You contradicted yourself.
Which would be why it's at the very end of the post... because that's the final conclusion I came to.
Age is just a number. Just because you are younger, doesn't mean you have less experience in the world than adults do. There are kids who have been through way more than most adults. I doubt many of you people who debate have experience in what you're even debating about. Just because you're 18 doesn't mean you have been through more than someone who's 12? Age has nothing to do with any of this, it has to do with maturity, experiences, and how you handle things. Everyone has the same rights on this forum, and I doubt that's going to change. If you want to comment how you feel about a subject, you're free to do so. If they get out of hand then they can get kicked out of the group. They are allowed to give their opinions too.
Most young people say age is just a number when the topic of maturity is brought up, so I expect that to be your stance. You're right though, it does have to do with maturity and experiences, which is why I mentioned
life experiences. And yes, by definition, being younger means you have less experience on this planet... Life experiences don't necessarily mean having to deal with the death of a parent or being abandoned by one, being depressed, or dealing with stuff like that; lots of kids deal with that on a daily basis. A life experience could be having a friend have an abortion and being there with them, watching (or experiencing it yourself) a loved one go through an addiction, knowing someone who has been involved in drinking and driving and is injured because of it, etc... A lot of these life experiences come from the late teen/young adult stages. (Though I admit some kids are exposed to them at an early age, which I don't think is a good thing.) College is an example of a place where people tend to experience new things. I'd say most of us actually do have experience (whether that's firsthand, secondhand, done through extensive research, etc...) with the debates we comment on... after all, it doesn't really make sense to join a debate if you're not knowledgeable about the topic.
I'm not saying age doesn't mean you shouldn't be able to comment on a topic; I'm just agreeing with ICON, because I think he's right. It's true that debating with someone who's much younger and is less experienced and mature is difficult. And I do think something should be done, but I'm not exactly sure what could be done in a way that it's fair and open to people of all ages. I'm not sure if there is a good solution to this problem.