> Note, too, that thanks to silly drinking laws in the U.S. there is a thriving industry in creating fake identity cards
Does this not happen much outside the US? In the US, the drinking age is 21. In most of the rest of the world it is 18, with a few scattered others (Japan 20, Iceland 20, 18-25 or illegal in India depending on region). From this, I'd expect demand for fake IDs for buying booze to be higher than average in the US because of the 19-21 year old market, but I'd expect the under 18 market to support fake IDs everywhere.
Even in the US, the impression I've gotten is that the under 18 market is where the majority of the fake ID for booze market lies, as that covers high school. Once you are out of high school and in college or in the full time work force, you can readily get booze regardless of age. In college, there will be 21 year olds among the juniors and seniors who can bring in the drinks, and in the work force there will be co-workers 21 and over to do that favor for you.
On the other hand, much of the rest of the world has been more accepting of technology to make IDs harder to fake. Could the US have a bigger fake ID market simply because it is easier to fake an ID here?
>> Could the US have a bigger fake ID market simply because it is easier to fake an ID here?
It probably has more to do with the increasingly harsh cleavage that exists between the underage seeking novelty and the overage acting in ways they view as being protective. The stigma associated with it makes both more fun and more connected with risky behavior.
I don't really see the point of going through the trouble of procuring illegal falsified documentation just to drink in the central European countries I'm familiar with. "Sure, let the 15 year old have a beer, what's the harm?" is the reaction you may encounter in several places outside the US.
> "Sure, let the 15 year old have a beer, what's the harm?" is the reaction you may encounter in several places outside the US.
And, in fact, in multiple places inside the US, at least in private gatherings.
(Not to beat on this too hard, but in many ways the whole of the US is more akin to the whole of Europe than any single European country. Lots of cultures, lots of demographics, lots of regional variation.)
Does this not happen much outside the US? In the US, the drinking age is 21. In most of the rest of the world it is 18, with a few scattered others (Japan 20, Iceland 20, 18-25 or illegal in India depending on region). From this, I'd expect demand for fake IDs for buying booze to be higher than average in the US because of the 19-21 year old market, but I'd expect the under 18 market to support fake IDs everywhere.
Even in the US, the impression I've gotten is that the under 18 market is where the majority of the fake ID for booze market lies, as that covers high school. Once you are out of high school and in college or in the full time work force, you can readily get booze regardless of age. In college, there will be 21 year olds among the juniors and seniors who can bring in the drinks, and in the work force there will be co-workers 21 and over to do that favor for you.
On the other hand, much of the rest of the world has been more accepting of technology to make IDs harder to fake. Could the US have a bigger fake ID market simply because it is easier to fake an ID here?