Josh Salah al-Din said:
Why make it higher when generally speaking teenagers are maturing earlier and have sex at an earlier age than a few decades ago?
As someone correctly noted in this thread above me, people are maturing faster physically now than ever before, but emotional maturity is being stunted. Physical maturity, especially sexual maturity, is happening earlier and earlier now because of better nutrition and a more developed environment. It's all biological, and you can't stop biology (easily, at least).
But the attitude that has permeated through the US at least, and perhaps even most of the Western world, is one of delayed adolescence. This mostly has to do with higher standards of education. It used to be that, after high school, it was normal for the kid to move out and get a job. College wasn't a necessity, and didn't become one until it became nearly impossible to earn a living wage straight out of high school. But basically, the longer it takes to complete one's education, theoretically the longer one is dependent on one's parents/family and the longer one can spend in the adolescence flummox.
I could go on and on and on about this, but won't bore the thread. If you'd like more details, feel free to PM me
