Everybody knows that movie downloads are illegal, and yet very few people seem to care. They are easy to find and use, and often you don’t feel as though you’re doing anything wrong. Because there’s so little involved, whether you’re downloading for a party or to entertain yourself late at night, it’s easy to excuse this sort of behavior for yourself.
There’s a big difference between illegal downloads and watching personal video on YouTube and other video sharing sites. In the latter, the owner of the video makes a conscious choice to publish what he has produced.
However, the companies who make major films have no say when their movies are stolen to be published on other websites, making them lose out on their profits.
The problem is that a lot of people think the only ones who are doing anything really wrong are the people doing the actual uploading and that those who are only watching the videos, are innocent. However, it only takes a brief look at legal statements released by the Motion Picture Association of America, the MPAA, to know how very untrue that belief is.
Again, these movies are stolen goods. A lot of people put hard work into making them, and by illegally getting your hands on these films, you’re taking something away from them. You know you wouldn’t walk up to somebody who was offering stolen goods in the real world, and so you shouldn’t in the virtual world, either. However tempting it might be, you must hold off for your own sake.
No matter how much emphasis there might be on those stories where somebody is caught doing illegal downloading, and no matter how scary the fines and even prison time they might have had to face could be, the fact is people who get caught are few and far between.
However, these people don’t always get caught. In fact, the vast majority never have to worry about a thing, which is why so many people continue to download no matter how horrible the stories of those few unlucky individuals who were found out might be to hear.
It’s sad to say, but people are naturally selfish, and if they think they can get away with something, they’re probably going to do it. With downloading movies, they’re usually right, and so they won’t stop no matter how much it could hurt others. Of course, it’s wrong to keep using excuses like this, but it just doesn’t stop people from doing it.
You really need to take a look at the morality of what you’re doing. While it’s easy to ignore that somebody is directly affected by everyone who downloads a movie as opposed to buying it, this doesn’t change the fact that it is true.
Put yourself in the shoes of somebody watching their personal, hard-earned profits slip away because of people downloading their movie without paying for it. You wouldn’t want this done to you, so you shouldn’t do it to anybody else.
People might tell you that downloading movies is okay because you’re only hurting actors, directors, and executives who make too much money already. Don’t listen to them. The majority of workers are underpaid staff and extras, and they need your money, too. Stop having to feel guilty and avoid downloading movies illegally once and for all.
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