Microsoft Corporation has released the results of a new online survey that found American teenagers between 7th and 10th grades are less likely to illegally download content from the Internet when they know the laws for downloading and sharing content online.
According to the results, 49 percent of respondents said they are not familiar with the rules and guidelines for downloading images, literature, music, movies and software from the Internet. Only 11 percent said they understood the rules “very well.” However, among teenagers who said they were familiar with the laws, 82 percent said illegal downloaders should be punished. In contrast, 57 percent of those unfamiliar with the laws said violators should be punished.
In general, teenagers regard illegal downloading over the Internet as less offensive than other forms of stealing. Less than half of the teens surveyed (48 percent) indicated punishment was appropriate for illegal downloading, while 90 percent indicated punishment was appropriate for stealing a bike.
Teens who were familiar with downloading rules credited their parents, TV or stories in magazines and newspapers and websites–more so than their schools–as resources for information about illegal downloading. Additionally, the survey found that teens are challenged by peer pressure and their wallets. Among this group, peer pressure and cost also have a strong influence on attitudes toward illegal downloading.
