Inside the Mind of a 9 Year Old File-Sharer
Written by enigmax on October 21, 2007Everyone knows that a significant number of file-sharers are teenagers and young adults and they get their share of press. But what about the true kids - the under 10’s ? TorrentFreak makes itself feel old trying to keep up with the agile mind of a 9 year old file-sharer.
Like most publications, here at TorrentFreak we regularly interview adults. However, when a recent conversation with a child turned to file-sharing, we took the opportunity to give the P2P kids a voice. We had a little chat with a 9 year old girl who wants to be called “Hannah” (after Hannah Montana) and she talks to us about LimeWire, BEBO, YouTube and her perception of the rights and wrongs of copying - even her frustrations with DRM.
“Never work with children or animals” said WC Fields. TorrentFreak takes a chance:
TF. Hi Hannah! How old are you?
- I’m 10 in 12 days
TF. What sort of music are you listening to right now?
Sean Kingstone, Shayne Ward and High School Musical 2
TF. Where did you first get into music?
- On the music channels, on MTV.
TF. When did you get a PC?
- People had computers but I couldn’t go on them but my Dad bought me one last year. I have internet.
TF. What do you do on the internet?
- MSN, talking to friends and cousins, games and dressing-up games [dolls]
TF. When did you first start using the internet to get music?
- My cousin showed me YouTube and then LimeWire and I was like “whoa cool!”
TF. What was cool about it?
- Because you can put anything in and it will come up and you don’t actually pay for it. Well you have to pay for the internet and LimeWire comes with the internet but you have to pay for that so LimeWire isn’t really free.
TF. Ok…I see….Do you get music from anywhere else?
- My cousin gets it from BEBO. She copies it from other people’s pages and puts it on her own.
TF. Do you think it’s ok to copy the music?
- Yes it’s ok because she only does it to make her page better.
TF. So you’re sure that it’s ok to copy it? What do you think about copying?
- I suppose it’s not ok to copy but people copied it off her site so she just copies theirs. It’s like, you’re copying my t-shirt so i’m copying you on shoes.
TF. Ok, so a bit like copying school work?….Hmm….ok, let’s talk about copying on the computer again. When you started using LimeWire, did anyone ever mention that if you did certain things you might be breaking some laws?
- Why would they put it [music] on the internet and invent mp3 players if it was against the law?
TF. Confusing isn’t it?….You mentioned you like Sean Kingstone - what if I told you that Sean Kingstone’s boss might send you a letter asking for money because you shared his album on LimeWire? What would you say to him?
- W.E! [whatever!]
TF. Come on, play along with me. What would you say if he did?
- I’d say “tooooo strict!” and anyway he can’t make me do anything. He’s not the boss of me, he’s the boss of Sean Kingstone.
TF. What do you think might happen if you didn’t pay him?
- Nothing. I’m too young to be charged by the government so he can’t charge me.
TF. Would you carry on using LimeWire after he sent the letter?
- Yeah!
TF. Why?
- Because you can get good albums off there. Duh!! My CD’s don’t work in my mp3 player so LimeWire is the only way to do it. I bought High School Musical 2 on CD but it won’t go on my mp3 [player]
TF. How would you make LimeWire better?
- To speak to the person sending the music to make sure they send the right one, sometimes they send stuff that doesn’t even play.
TF. Do you know what a pirate is?
- They have parrots [effects 'arrrrr']
TF. Do you think its legal or illegal to copy a CD or DVD?
- Some men right, they sell you a DVD at the market but when you get home it doesn’t play, that’s illegal.
TF. Why is it illegal?
- Duh!! Because they tell you it works and when you get it home it’s rubbish and jumps in the middle and its a waste of money!
TF. Do you think you should be paying for stuff off LimeWire? You have to buy CD’s from the shop…
- You have to pay for CD’s because they’re actually on a disc not on the computer. My cousin, right, she uses LimeWire when she doesn’t have any money for CDs.
TF. Did you ever download anything by anybody and then go to see them?
- I got stuff by Lee Ryan and Simon Webbe and then I went to see Blue. Why don’t you ask me what my favorite hobby is?
TF. Ok, what’s your favorite hobby?
- Dancing to music, it’s fun!!
Thankyou, Hannah. That’s it! Have a nice birthday!
Previously: ShareTV Evolves Into a TV Torrent Community
Next: How To Bypass Comcast’s BitTorrent Throttling
271 Responses (Add yours or TrackBack)
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This is why kids should be supervised more. Im not saying that i dont download music. But i understand that i am taking a risk and essentially steeling from the authors. This girl doesnt even realise were this stuff comes from. Her parents should be mroe involved and making sure that she isnt going to cost them there home or at least to teach her right from wrong. Plus why does the opinion of a 9 year old matter. She doesnt even know what that music is about she is just responding to current trends that are forced down her throat. A 9 year old with the internet blindly downloading is not a good idea.
“- Because you can put anything in and it will come up and you don’t actually pay for it. Well you have to pay for the internet and LimeWire comes with the internet but you have to pay for that so LimeWire isn’t really free.”
LMAO. Thats one damn smart 9 year old.
copying 1s and 0s is not the same as stealing physical products from a store. it doesn’t require any extra physical or labor resources to produce a digital copy of a piece of information. eating at a restaurant without paying is wrong, because food and cooking have irreplaceable value.
if hollywood wants to go after someone, they should pick on libraries.
I hope she gets killed.
That is the fakest interview i’ve ever read.
I really enjoyed this article. It gives you idea into the mind of a simpler generation.
It was cute, and I had a few laughs because the answers, at least to me, sounds pretty innocent.
Now if she only knew the darker side of file sharing. The world of lawsuits and homes lost and college funds drained..ah yes, welcome to reality. *shudders*
LOL, awesome, do more interviews like this XD
Im 16 and i use limewire! fuck lawsss
I personally think it’s wonderful to see kids interested in technology. Even in there younger ages. Copyright issues are just not-as responsive to kids too than from adults. And besides it’s been proved that a child under the age of 10 can’t break the law. Even if it does goto court. It would be for the parents like someone stated above. And personally i think there should be no copyright laws. Try and lean toward a free technology market. It would be best if we did. It would allow the world to develop a economy freely to that of a business. In turn even the middle man can make money.
This is why America is dying. Stupid freaking kids are being raised with horribly skewed, material-based opinions on what is right and wrong. Parents need to get a grip on their kids.
come on people this is funny, thats the point…to make you laugh. you all are to serious. obviously if torrent freak interviews a nine year old (almost ten!), then there trying to make you laugh!
I think #19 Shaze’s staement: “The real problem is that not enough of the majority are given control of the system.” —–is correct.
I’ve supported every musician and actor of most every torrent I’ve ever used.
I’ve seen them live, bought t-shirts, Vinyl records, tape cassettes, CD’s, b-sides…. I go to the movies and pay my $10+ to see them in theaters, pay for cable tv, rent movies and buy movies… I’ve lived through the beginning of cable tv, satellite tv, beta-maxs, laser disk, vcr’s, and now DVD players and streaming media…
I’ve collected music since I was 10 years old, and saw as many movies as possible since I was 8…
I think I’ve payed my dues…
I barely make a living in America at $10 - $12 bucks an hour… and I’ve spent so much of that on $20 CD’s and $10 movies, monthly cable, and the devices to play movies and music… plus, I’ve sat through 34 years of the advertising that comes packaged along side of the art…
This has nothing to with the artist. I will always support the artist. I just don’t want to support someone else leeching off of the artist, that might not even like the artist.
I respect what Radiohead and Prince have been doing and hope more artists release their material like that, with the option to pay for it, or not pay for it.
To finish this, I have looked at my music collection that I have downloaded using torrents, and 90% of them are albums, cassettes, and CD’s that I have owned… sometimes more than once.
Music gets ruined, CD’s and records scratched, tapes eaten. The way I see it, I’ve already paid for the music rites (sometimes more than twice), and now that there is a way to get music that doesn’t need a physical medium with all of the packaging like a CD, Tape, or Record… it’s not really pirating.
That is such bullshit, no ten year old talks like that. I’ve got two of them. They’re online all the time.
Generation Q
Fake.
A pirates life for me…
Cute interview. Made me smile.
so fake
sad. very sad.
Wow, how poorly misguided that child is.
“Because you can get good albums off there. Duh!! My CD’s don’t work in my mp3 player so LimeWire is the only way to do it. I bought High School Musical 2 on CD but it won’t go on my mp3 [player]”
You’d think that somebody who knows how to use Limewire is smart enough to convert CD files and put them on an mp3 player.
Then again, this is a 9-year-old who thinks “whatever” will get her out of a lawsuit.
Hi, I’m Chris Hansen would you please take a seat. No, no, just take a seat. So, Mr the Torrent Freak what’s up with these talks with little girls?
i want my money(songs) bee itch
I also have to draw on skepticism here…some of the responses seem so generic.
you should try an interview with a teenager. more like 15-18 year old, who has a firmer grasp of the whole conception
This perfectly describes the thought process of some of the girls I know from high school, some of the teachers even. One time we had a teacher tell us Napster was illegal because it stole music from computers that did not have Napster installed. I will give 3 cheers for the fact that there is a 9 year old pirate, even if she is using limewire.
Someone get this girl iTunes. And then school her in how to use a damn computer.
Can’t get songs from a CD onto an MP3 player…?
I weep for the future of geekdom.
Where’s my belt?
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