When I started using the internet, everything was free. My friends and I were shocked the first time we heard of a pay service online. We could download MIDI files (synthesized music, before the invention of MP3) for free. There were thousands of databases and no one ever thought that it was a form of pirating. It is this view of the Internet that causes my social group to be more likely to download music or TV programs (things that are already free to view in another form).
In contrast, my children will probably see downloading free software online as lewd or unsafe. They will have grown up thinking of the current commercial internet model as normal. This will make them feel better about paying for MP3 files, whereas I don’t view this form of media as static. If I pay for something, I feel like it should be a tangible object.
More than anything, the Internet and Cyberspace are changing our perception of “tangible” and “real”.
