Think About the Children! A Survey

Filed in archive Commentary , Society & Public Policy , Stats on August 24, 2006

Let's consider the children. A recent survey of tweens, teens, and young adults shows that the percent considering an act illegal drops from 98% for stealing a CD/DVD to 80% for buying a bootleg CD/DVD to 75% for downloading unauthorized music or videos to 35% for copying a friend's CD/DVD. A chart from an earlier Harris interactive polls shows that fewer tweens and teens are downloading content without paying.

For the most part the survey results are consistent across age groups. There is a trend where young adults and college students increasingly consider buying bootleg media less illegal, a reflection of lower available cash and more access to bootlegs.

The largest variation is college age downloading with an interesting choice of interpretations. Downloading drops five to ten percentage points for the group compared both to younger and older groups. That may be in response to universities offering inexpensive campus music services, clamping down on P2P use, or both.

Actual consumer behavior does differ as P2P use continues to rise. In any case, the surveys do show that the younger generation does appreciate the value of music and video ... though not to the extent pushed by the entertainment industry where copying a CD or DVD is considered a crime.