P2P

With all these new media outlets, the internet has expanded far beyond what it was originally intended to do. With the help of the internet, people can interact with others without actually physically being there. Not only can they communicate through messages, people can also utilize file sharing. File sharing is where users can transfer files from their computers through the Internet. In the same sense as file sharing itself, peer-to-peer file sharing is when users share media files such as movies, books, music, games, and much more through a P2P software on a P2P network. A user can search for a media file and a list of matching file results will appear that other users uploaded online. These users can then download the file from anywhere.

Peer-to-peer file sharing is a very useful tool for many people, especially since we can share all the media we like. However, P2P file sharing can actually be bad in the sense that it is hurting the content creators because of piracy. In the article, "Digital Pirates Winning Battle With Studios," Brian Stetler and Brad Stone tackle the issue of piracy and the fact that the amount of money the movie producers make from film productions come from DVD sales. This shows that piracy deeply effects this industry and P2P file sharing can actually cause a downfall. Piracy can also be found in the video game industry, music industry, and book sales as well. Although individuals generally believe they are helping others out by P2P file sharing, it is actually unfair to others who work hard to put the content out.