Acquiring fake IDs is common among large numbers of otherwise law-abiding young Americans, especially those leaving home for college for the first time.
An external study of undergraduates in the Midwest conducted by the University of Missouri in 2007 found that about 32% of respondents had fake IDs by the end of their sophomore year.
“College students are in possession of fake IDs,” said Steven M Jacoby, a Maryland attorney who defends 50 to 80 undergraduates each year who are charged with possessing fake IDs.
Although the law frowns on the use of forged government documents — offenders typically risk up to six months in prison, depending on the state they live in — obtaining fake IDs is widely seen as a normal part of growing up.
In the 2007 coming-of-age comedy “Superbad,” a key scene features an underage Fogell, played by Christopher Mintz-Plasse, trying to buy a large amount of alcohol with a forged Hawaii driver’s license that, improbably, says his name is McLovin.
The ordeal is portrayed as a test on the road to adulthood — reflecting the ambivalent attitudes toward underage drinking in American society.
“Maybe Americans like the illegal part of it — they see it as a rite of passage,” said Julia Martinez, a Colgate University psychology professor who led the Missouri study.