Funny statistics reveal the rebellious nature of digital filibusters.
A recent study conducted by the University of Portsmouth in the UK found that warning messages designed to" intimidate " Internet users, thereby encouraging them to abandon digital piracy, can lead to sharply opposite results, especially among a male audience.
Digital piracy involves getting free access to paid content, such as books, movies, TV shows, games, and software. Torrent trackers and specialized websites help Internet users save significantly on digital goods, but they violate copyright laws and cause significant damage to the creative economy, costing the industry billions of dollars annually.
The study revealed the effectiveness of anti-piracy messages as a deterrent. The analysis assessed changes in piracy intentions among 962 adult participants compared to their previous behavior.
Kate Whitman, lead author of the study from the University of Portsmouth's Center for Cybercrime and Economic Crime, noted that men and women respond differently to anti-piracy messages, highlighting the need for a different approach to combating this phenomenon.
The study looked at three real-world anti-piracy campaigns: two with threatening messages and one with educational content. Threatening messages focused the subjects ' attention on the legal consequences, the risk of prosecution and the danger of infection with computer viruses, while educational messages simply sought to inform them about the moral and economic damage caused by piracy.
The results showed that threatening messages reduced pirating intent in women by more than 50%, while men, on the contrary, increased their pirating activity by 18%. The researchers justified this by saying that men have a much more pronounced psychological response to actions that encroach on their freedom. This leads to sharply opposite results.
At the same time, educational messages that did not contain any "bullying" did not have any visible effect on either men or women. The so-called "appeals to conscience" do not work here.
The authors of the study emphasize significant gender differences in approaches to combating piracy, which must be taken into account when conducting anti-piracy campaigns. Only an individual approach, according to the authors, can bring visible results without aggravating the current situation.
A recent study conducted by the University of Portsmouth in the UK found that warning messages designed to" intimidate " Internet users, thereby encouraging them to abandon digital piracy, can lead to sharply opposite results, especially among a male audience.
Digital piracy involves getting free access to paid content, such as books, movies, TV shows, games, and software. Torrent trackers and specialized websites help Internet users save significantly on digital goods, but they violate copyright laws and cause significant damage to the creative economy, costing the industry billions of dollars annually.
The study revealed the effectiveness of anti-piracy messages as a deterrent. The analysis assessed changes in piracy intentions among 962 adult participants compared to their previous behavior.
Kate Whitman, lead author of the study from the University of Portsmouth's Center for Cybercrime and Economic Crime, noted that men and women respond differently to anti-piracy messages, highlighting the need for a different approach to combating this phenomenon.
The study looked at three real-world anti-piracy campaigns: two with threatening messages and one with educational content. Threatening messages focused the subjects ' attention on the legal consequences, the risk of prosecution and the danger of infection with computer viruses, while educational messages simply sought to inform them about the moral and economic damage caused by piracy.
The results showed that threatening messages reduced pirating intent in women by more than 50%, while men, on the contrary, increased their pirating activity by 18%. The researchers justified this by saying that men have a much more pronounced psychological response to actions that encroach on their freedom. This leads to sharply opposite results.
At the same time, educational messages that did not contain any "bullying" did not have any visible effect on either men or women. The so-called "appeals to conscience" do not work here.
The authors of the study emphasize significant gender differences in approaches to combating piracy, which must be taken into account when conducting anti-piracy campaigns. Only an individual approach, according to the authors, can bring visible results without aggravating the current situation.
