University of Twente Student Theses
Streaming Platforms vs. Digital Piracy: A qualitative study on when young adults search for alternatives to stream movies or series online
Baudach Fernández, Sophie Isabella (2023) Streaming Platforms vs. Digital Piracy: A qualitative study on when young adults search for alternatives to stream movies or series online.
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| Abstract: | Aim: Streaming platforms such as Netflix, Disney+, or Amazon Prime have become a common way to watch movies and series online, and so has their common enemy Digital Piracy (DP). As streaming platforms have recently been developing and appearing, there is a lack of research on what drives people to subscribe and pay for these services when there are free options available. Thus, the goal of this study is to gain insights into what makes it worth it for young people to subscribe to a streaming service instead of using piracy. Methods: To gain deeper insights, a qualitative research method in the form of in total of 15 semistructured interviews was conducted. During the interviews, participants were asked questions related to their experience streaming movies or series online. The sample consisted of six men and nine women aged between 18 and 28 years (M = 23.13). Participants were invited through convenience sampling method. After the interviews were conducted, they were transcribed and analyzed following the constant comparison method. Results: The results showed that availability issues are a reason for young adults to look for alternatives. One of the results showed that young adults see VPN services as a complement to legal streaming platforms as well as an alternative to digital piracy when movies or series are not available. The second result was that there is a new approach to peer-to-peer networks (P2P) where these are evolving to less anonymous networks in the form of sharing accounts on streaming services or group chats with strangers when looking for movies or series that are not available. Conclusion: Streaming platforms are seen as a first choice, but when there are movies, series, or languages that are not available, young adults decide to look for alternatives. |
| Item Type: | Essay (Bachelor) |
| Faculty: | BMS: Behavioural, Management and Social Sciences |
| Subject: | 05 communication studies |
| Programme: | Communication Studies BSc (56615) |
| Link to this item: | https://purl.utwente.nl/essays/95559 |
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