The Josephson Institute of Ethics (JIE) recently released its survey on bullying and other teen conduct. The study found that, among other things, 60% of the teens surveyed had cheated on a test – 34% more than once – and 27% of the teens said they “stole something from a store.”
When we at SIIA attempt to educate teens on copyright and piracy we often use the analogy: you wouldn’t steal a book from a store, so why would you illegally download a book? After reading about the JIE survey it seems clear that this analogy doesn’t work – not because of teens’ views on piracy necessarily, but rather because of their view on ethics in general. If so many teens see no problem with stealing a book from a store or cheating on a test what hope do we have in getting them to not pirate valuable software, movies or books.
This dilemma here seems much larger than just the epidemic of piracy. Obviously, not all teens are thieves, but the study suggests that we need to do more to educate America’s youth on basic tenets of fairness, ethics and morality.
We need to ask ourselves, why are today’s teens so willing to screw someone else over for their own personal gain? Why are they willing to cross ethical boundaries if it satisfies their need for instant gratification? Why do so many teens have little or no moral code? Once we have those answers maybe we’ll have some hope of stemming the tide of piracy.
In the meantime, perhaps the only message that may get through to teens in the 10’s is a message from the 70’s: Don’t do the crime, if you can’t do the time.