Becoming 18 and a legal adult has always been thrilling for most teenagers. However, an 18 year old will be unable to receive and pay for their own phone contract until they are 19 years old.

It is strange to find that an adult can not sign their own phone contract. 18-year-olds gain the right to vote, can pay their own taxes, and are sent off into the world to fend for themselves, yet they are somehow denied a necessary use of communication.

Many 18 year olds leave home to go to college or aspire to do something with their lives. They do not feel the need to have their parents holding their hand every step of the way to buy their own phone. Rights like voting are things that are considered more important and mature than buying a phone. If someone is considered mature enough to handle voting for this nation’s leaders then they should be considered mature enough to buy something as simple as a phone.

It is understood that some 18 year olds can be irresponsible, but that is not a good reason for their phone contract to be under their parents. Most 19-year-olds hold jobs and can afford to purchase a phone or make payments in their own plan. There is no point to deny an adult access to purchasing their own phone contract if they are contributing to society as much as everyone else.

Banishing a new adult’s sense of responsibility by making them incapable of buying their own phone contract is beyond ridiculous. There must be a solution to give an 18 year old the ability to purchase a phone at their own free will without parental consent or part in the action.