I'm doing research and would deeply appreciate your responses. The age of menses has been falling for the last 50 years and is now at the point where VERY young girls are reaching puberty. The point is that young adulthood is much more apparent in teenagers that it used to be. Information is at our fingertips, and it's had a powerful effect on the naiveté that used to be associated with this age group. Hence, they possess an awareness that is very different than it used to be. I could see a day when this group becomes a political force, even though they're not permitted to vote. The state, however, refers to them as children and incapable of making adult decisions. I wonder if that's really true. What do you think?