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Gen Z is leading a new wave of internet piracy

Between Netflix, Hulu, and Disney+, it seemed like streaming giants might have finally won. Gen Z is proving that piracy will never die.

Between Netflix, Hulu, and Disney+, it seemed like streaming giants might have finally won. Gen Z is proving that piracy will never die.

It seems like Gen Z is leading a new wave of piracy, or it’s at least joining and continuing an intergenerational piracy wave.
For Hana and many others in her age group, a lot of it has to do with accessibility. “I happen to enjoy a lot of fringe media that’s very hard to access legally, so I feel no shame about pirating that as the alternative,” she said.
Most commonly, most began streaming before they were old enough to get credit cards or pay for legitimate services on their own, or simply couldn’t afford it.
Based on my conversations, the younger generation is disillusioned by feeling guilt towards “stealing” from huge media giants.