When Napster first debuted 23 years ago, I was astonished by how many young people didn't think that sharing media content was illegal or immoral. They didn't think that the intellectual property rights of the authors were a big deal, or that the loss of royalties mattered.
Fast forward to today, and we have a new generation of kids raised by the Napster Generation who appear to have even less regard for the impacts of sharing protected information. They just weren't raised to think that it's an important responsibility in a civil society to respect the ownership rights of others.
This apparently has spread to national secrets, too, as well as the ramifications of taking military oaths and signing non-disclosure agreements. I fear that this behavior is endemic in the youth of today. It seems to be what's driving the behaviors of diversity and social justice activists, when they either fail or refuse to follow the policies and organizational controls of the organizations that hired them.
-PJ
Information wants to be free
“Information wants to be free” is an expression that means all people should be able to access information freely. It is often used by technology activists to criticize laws that limit transparency and general access to information. People who criticize intellectual property law say the system of such government-granted monopolies conflicts with the development of a public domain of information. The expression is often credited to Stewart Brand, who was recorded saying it at a hackers conference in 1984.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Information_wants_to_be_free
Good point and insight.
The current young people tend to be far removed from the old fashioned ideas of integrity and honesty.
Saying I read: “I cannot understand how students can fail in college when all you have to do is cheat.”
From “The Honest Truth About Teen Dishonesty” by Mark Gregston in parentingtodaysteens.org
....But it wasn’t necessarily those numbers that shocked me. What really rocked me back on my heels was that this recent study of American teenagers reported that while over 50% of teenagers admitted lying, cheating, or stealing within that last year, 93% of those same kids said they are “satisfied with their personal ethics and character.” In addition, 81% of those teenagers said that “when it comes to doing what’s right, they are better than most people they know.”
It would seem, sadly, that while dishonesty is taking a hold of more and more teenagers, they are blind to the fact that it is morally wrong. While it is in no way an excuse, we cannot overlook the way our culture glorifies all forms of dishonesty. I think we’d all be hard-pressed to name five unimpeachably honest public figures today. Who hasn’t turned on the TV or read the news in which a politician, business leader, sports figure, police officer, teacher or even a judge — those people we look up to as role models — has been caught in a lie, or has had a scandal exposed? And let’s not forget the explosion of popular, so-called, “reality” TV shows, whose strategy is usually based on deception and lying in order to gain a monetary prize or fame. While we should stress to our kids that we are all accountable for our own decisions, it’s difficult to reinforce the standards of honesty in a society that seems to broadcast that dishonesty is the far better road to travel.
So how can we reverse those statistics, and help our kids embrace truth over the lies?