Assgn.9- Music to your soul

The world online has endless opportunities. From gambling to shopping you rarely find yourself bored online. People who are depressed/lonely especially, find something online to do that they can either relate to or can make them happy. One such item is downloading music.


They say music is therapy to the soul. Its rhythms and words can heal wounds of the heart and can make any person feel better about life. The music industry however is a very profitable business and at 15 dollars a CD, an expense that many simply cannot afford. This is when the light shines through the clouds and shines on peer to peer file sharing networks. Programs such as Limewire, Kazaa, DC ++, and Grokster are booming in popularity. Users are able to download pretty much any type of music they are in the mood for by a simple search and a fairly quick download. Best part about these programs...its FREE. This can lead to PIU
(problematic internet usage) because users will spend constant time online downloading music. They will build their music library to the extreme just to have music of all varieties right on their computer. Focus comes off of homework, research, email or other important tasks on the computer because once you start downloading, you keep thinking of new songs that you want to hear. As soon as you hear a new song on the radio, you rush home to download it so that its accessible to you at any time.

Many factors are described by Davis 4 dimensions. Users have diminished impulse control because they simply cannot help but download the music. When feeling lonely or depressed for some, music is that drug or distraction to make everything seem better. Also some feel that if they know many types of music then they will be more socially acceptable. When a hot song comes out that everyone knows, being able to sing the song along with others or spit the hottest rap song on BET 106&Park makes you feel as part of that group and not as alone. Also people may see you differently based on your musical tastes and knowledge. The internet factors are also a huge factor in the attraction to file sharing networks. These networks are very accessible to any interested user. Downloading the program is a quick process and you can download it onto almost any computer anywhere. Also if you have a laptop with a wireless internet connection, you can listen to music and download where ever you are at any point of the day. The affordability also comes into play. Where else could you get endless music at any time for the low price of free? Sites such as iTunes and Yahoo! have music for download but you have to pay for each individual song. Hence, why these networks are not so widely used.

Caplans concept of compulsive use is seen in these users. Their inability to control the downloading is accompanied with the feeling of guilt over the lack of control. It is known that although file sharing is free and convenient, bottom line is that it is illegal. We are stealing licensed music from artists who are essentially losing money because less CDs are being bought as you can just get the music online for free. Also guilt may cross ones mind about putting spyware or other possible viruses on your computer system. In the end, music downloading is an important part of our online networking and will continue to be as users lean towards music for fulfillment. As the need of fulfillment continues, so will the development of PIU.


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