The Benefits of Delaying Adulthood

People often talk about delayed adulthood or failure to launch in a disparaging way implying that young adults today are somehow lazy or immature. But given what we know now about young adult brain development, delaying some aspects of adulthood can actually be a good thing. Why is that? Well we know that the brain needs novelty and stimulation and challenge in order to develop especially in the prefrontal regions of the brain which are important for advanced thinking abilities and for self-control. And it seems to me that delaying a adulthood provides opportunities to continue to be exposed to novelty and challenge.