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it feels weird debating "what age = 'children'" in a report about people getting blown up in a genocide
this post was submitted on 26 Jun 2025
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This. These semantics mean nothing, lives are lost and can never be replaced.
Edit: grammar.
Semantics mean nothing
Semantics is literally the study of meaning.
I don't see any debate. Just a definition for clarity since sometimes children are considered younger than other ages.
The comment is not out of place. In many jurisdictions, a "child" is under 14, while 14-18 is a "young adult" or "adolescent"
You might not be familiar with it but "people under 18" is a long standing propaganda trope.
What Reuters could have said is "Children, defined as people under 18". But they hit the "people under 18" keyphrase.
"Children, defined as people under 18"
People under 18 whom it defines as children
Aside from including your 'meme phrase', I don't see the difference
Women and children are usually two subsequent words which imply innocent people not involved in any combat.
Oh, didn't know about the meme, thanks
"meme"
There needs to be a clear legal standard, and 18 Years is the arbitrary line we agreed on.
When a 17 Year old go to war, they are child soldiers, and when they get bombed/starve, they count towards the children death toll.
I think the UN also counts anyone under 35 as "youth" as well. So there's a lot of statistics-related terminology to deal with here.
No? Like fucking take the effort to verify you’re claims my dude
https://www.un.org/en/global-issues/youth
“There is no universally agreed international definition of the youth age group. For statistical purposes, however, the United Nations—without prejudice to any other definitions made by Member States—defines ‘youth’ as those persons between the ages of 15 and 24 years. This definition, which arose in the context of preparations for the International Youth Year (1985) (see A/36/215), was endorsed by the General Assembly in its resolution 36/28 of 1981. All UN statistics on youth are based on this definition, as is reflected in the annual yearbooks of statistics published by the UN system on demography, education, employment and health.”
The claim was based on me attending "national youth day" activities with a bunch of guys that seemed way too old, and wondering why, then the same day the radio told me included people to to age 35, "according to the UN." So the data point stuck like that.
Which makes sense as this was a southern African nation that likely took their definition from South Africa. Which uses the age of 35.
https://1library.net/article/definitions-of-ys-of-youth-the-concept-of-youth.qop452mz
And the UN does recognize variance in the definition of "youth" in local contexts.
So either we're both wrong, or both right. You pick.
Fair enough. I apologize for the snarky tone.
No worries, and to be fair, I didn't know the UN had its own standalone definition that ended at 24 until you mentioned it. So maybe we both learned about the grey area that caught us both up.
Yeah, it would feel weird calling a 17 year old a child.
If you're more than 8-10 years older than that, it absolutely does not feel weird in the slightest.
What if it was a 17 year old Israeli?
i thought young adult is 18/19??
These unconvicted foreigners, who some people refer to as "InNocEnt ciViLiANs"
But who can really say, what defines children? /s
Reads like one of those "pedophilia is a legitimate sexual orientation" people, who I forget the term for, but do not care to have in my search history.
Minor Attracted People (MAP)?
North American Marlin Brando Look-Alikes
Oh, those guys
Gotta be specific so the pundits can't make up their own definition.
And yet the brain isn't really fully developed until the early 20s.
It’s twenty five, not early twenties.