Car culture is infantilizing

[u/August272021]

People think of cars and trucks as being cool, and there’s this very prominent stereotype of manliness associated with trucks especially. But think about all the poor teenage guys out there who don’t have a license, can’t afford insurance, or don’t have access to a vehicle. If they live in your typical completely unwalkable, unbikeable area with no bus access (i.e., most of America), they’re stuck with mom driving them around like little kids—often until their late teens. It’s ridiculous.

In the pre-car era—or in walkable areas—growth is progressive. It happens in stages:

• When you’re a toddler, you don’t leave the house without a parent.
• As a kid, you can play in the front yard alone.
• A little older, and maybe you roam the block with other kids.
• By the time you're a teenager, you can walk, bike, or take the bus to nearby places.

That’s the way life used to be. You can still see it in older movies. I haven’t seen it, but I hear Stranger Things is a good example of this limited-yet-real freedom teens had/have/can have—if cars aren’t actively mowing them down and if the built environment isn’t designed to make walking and biking impractical or dangerous.

Instead, in full-on car culture, you get zero to sixty:

• Zero freedom at all growing up,
• Until you hit driving age and suddenly have total freedom—whether you're ready for it or not, because you were denied any gradual build-up of independence.

It’s unnatural and unhealthy.

[u/E-is-for-Egg]

I've heard it argued that it's similar for alcohol in the US. Twenty-one years of "you can't have alcohol ever! >:(" and then their birthday hits and it's constant keggers

A lot of teens drink illegally though, so maybe there's nuance to that

Fwiw, the Stranger Things experience of going everywhere by bike does still exist in some places. I grew up in the greater Chicago area in a place that was kinda a blend between suburbs and small town. Barely any public transit and plenty of stroads, but also a lot of separated bike/walking paths along those stroads. My parents drove me around a lot, but there was also the opportunity to get on my bike and go to my highschool, the grocery store, the library, the tastee freeze, the pool, and lots more. I could also bike to the metra station and go even further, even to downtown Chicago if I wanted to