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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sick fucks..
I’ve been file sharing scince the napster days (and i’m only 13 at the momment) i know its illegal and what the riaa would like to do to me, but i do it.
[quote comment="191984"]I’ve been file sharing scince the napster days (and i’m only 13 at the momment)[/quote]
How the hell is that possible?!?!
Thats awesome… Although TF should of informed her about BT… Seems much safer :)… If i would of known this much about net when I was young…
this article is FAKE!
photoshopped
Actually, if you think about it, why the hell are adults so hard-on about cramming complicated laws into a kid’s head?
BT isn’t actually any safer now, either, so no change. BT has the additional risk of getting you pulled in for something you didn’t do, and unless all you’ve been torrenting are Linux builds and such, there’s really nothing much you can say to clear yourself because you’d have to incriminate yourself again.
A sale is not a right. Copying still leaves the products on the manufacturer’s shelf, so it’s no theft. The entire anti-piracy movement is just a bid to cement enforced exclusivity and control of media already sold to a consumer. Nothing more.
um shes really retarded and makes 9 year olds like me look stupid.
This is by the far the most retarded story ever!!
See? Its so simple, even a child understands.
to those who r against interviewing a 9 year old..i think the idea is fresh and worth doing ..i dun c any harm in it…
LIES!
This article is simply: FAKE.
To all of you that are calling this interview crap and spouting off bullshit like “Peadohpile” and “Fake” I’m sorry but what the hell is wrong with this interview? Not enough Manga? Or did it disturb you to learn that a 9 year old is smart enough to download and play “free” music from the internet?
I found it intresting….why? Because it shows that even the younger generation are so pissed at the price of CD’s and DVD’s that they choose to fileshare. And you call this guy an idot for posting this? When the best responses you can come up with are “Peadophile” “Loser” or some other complete pile of arse gravy. If you can’t actually take an intrest in the way the communtiy works….then fuck off back to slagging off movie stars on imdb or some such shit….you sad, pathetic little nerds….
[quote comment="192032"]A sale is not a right. Copying still leaves the products on the manufacturer’s shelf, so it’s no theft. The entire anti-piracy movement is just a bid to cement enforced exclusivity and control of media already sold to a consumer. Nothing more.[/quote]
Two words: opportunity costs. After reading these comments, it’s obvious that several of you have no idea what stealing really is.
When you copy a product and give it to someone, they have it. Therefore, they are not going to go to the manufacturer’s shelf and buy it. Instead of selling 2 units, the manufacturer only sells 1 - yet two customers have the unit. If I were the manufacturer/artist/publisher, I’d want to get paid for my product.
None of you people have a “right” to any fucking content. If you don’t want to pay for it, then you don’t have the right to take it as you please. Is it that fucking hard to understand?
NICE ARTICLE!
Fun and interesting :)
I don’t understand why people are getting bent out of shape over it….
It’s just a simple interview people. There would be no point to fake this and there’s nothing wrong with talking to kids!
Torrentfreak is awesome! Keep up the great work!
You are an idiot and probably work for Mediadefender or the RIAA.
Only a complete moron would beleive that everyone who downloads a song for free would have purchased it if they could not download it.
[quote comment="192077"]
You are an idiot and probably work for Mediadefender or the RIAA.
Only a complete moron would beleive that everyone who downloads a song for free would have purchased it if they could not download it.[/quote]
No, I’m just a musician who knows right from wrong. Just because you CAN do something doesn’t mean you SHOULD. There are these things called morals, you know.
Okay, pretend the internet didn’t exist. Imagine you heard a song you like on the radio and want to procure a copy for repeated, high quality listening. Do you:
a) walk into a store and buy it
b) walk into a store, decide the price is too high for you to pay, and leave empty handed
c) walk into a store, decide the price is too high, then shove it in your pocket and walk out
If you can’t afford to buy music, then you don’t have the privilege of enjoying it.
Seems like that kid was smarter than the person doing the interview. You show me someone who has “NEVER” downloaded something they “SHOULD” have paid for and I’ll show you someone who doesn’t have a computer. Zzzz…I’m going back to burning more crappy movies to sell at the market. >;)
This interview was photoshopped! The reflections are all wrong.
By the way “al”. When Internet did’nt existed, if I heard a song I like on the radio, I simply record it, At that was perfect for me. All my friends did the same.
I call bullshit.
Great display of the lack of education with internet usage today and use of information. Parents don’t know much and child are left to beleive the internet is free and really no rules. Whatever you can access, you get. Only way the fix this maybe is teach at schools or give parents information about proper internet usage at home.
Its people like this 9 year old who will ensure the destruction of the music industry in the future.
Artists will no longer be paid anything because everyone is ‘downloading’ the tracks on a program, not necessarily knowing what they are doing.
Ignorant people.
Why not ask her about how Congress has extended copyright to ridiculous lengths, ignoring the US Constitution:
Article I, Section 8, Clause 8 of the United States Constitution
“To promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts, by securing for limited Times to Authors and Inventors the exclusive Right to their respective Writings and Discoveries.”
One of the biggest reasons is the Micky Mouse, corporations does not wantto help artists, but to use them to obtain the largest benefit without caring a bit about the creators.
Let’s hope those new kids can see that the Constitution defends us, and not those corporations.
Copyright was created to promote creation and culture, and now they want to use it to diminish it.
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