When it comes down to it, illegal downloading is something that is now common in modern society. Like tape trading was back in the day, downloading movies, music and tv shows without paying for it is something that the government attempts to crack down on but will never be able to completely stamp out. Personally, I don’t agree with it. If something is available for you to purchase to enjoy, whether it be a show, film or song, then someone spent their time and money of their own to make it available to you, so paying for it is the right thing to do. In an economy where people are complaining about the lack of funds, illegally downloading someone elses work is essentially the same as someone walking into your house and taking something of yours. If you worked hard to get the money to buy that item, why should someone else be able to go and take it for free?

Here’s the thing though, what if something isn’t available? There’s a lot of movies, TV shows and in some cases unreleased music by bands/artists out there that without the ability to download it online, we may never see or hear it. Remember that show from when you were a kid that you just wish they’d release on DVD? Well those companies don’t think they’re gonna make any money off the release, so they have no plans to release it. But hey, someone happens to have recorded all the episodes before and releases them online. It’s not available in any other format, so you download them. You aren’t taking money from someones pocket because it’s not available to buy. Personally, I’ve done it before. Usually the image quality is horrible, the sound is off sync and there’s german subtitles at the bottom but you watch anyway to enjoy it.

When it comes down to it, there’s always going to be a fight over the subject. Personally, I think if somethings not available to buy then I’m not going to illegally download it. If it’s something that isn’t released in any format, I’m probably going to download it. Am I stealing? I’m not sure. Maybe, technically I am. If it gets released on DVD or CD, am I going to buy it? If I waited hours on end for it to download, I’ll spend my money to have the best quality. In the meantime, it looks like I’ll have to enjoy the tiny images from ITunes for my Mighty Morphin Power Rangers needs and a pixelated image for my Back to the Future cartoons.