Generational divide in copyright

The obvious reaction is, "Well, duh."

But, of course, that's simplistic. Or at least, the issue merits further analysis. Why are kids much more willing to brazenly ignore copyright? I think the simplest answer is that they have grown up with modern technology a) that makes it easy to the point of being innate to copy data, and b) for which the instruments of copyright enforcement (i.e., DRM) present a perpetual annoyance and frustration when trying to do simple things like use a song that normally lives on their computer on their mp3 player when they go to the gym.

I honestly don't know what the right answer is when it comes to what public policy should be. As I've said before, I think watermarking, if it worked, would be a better solution than DRM. In general, I'm a big fan of using instruments of accountability for illegal activity over instruments of prevention. Indeed, that's the main problem with music distribution on the Internet. Think about it: when you walk into a toy store, you can play with the toys before you buy them. Hell, you can generally even walk out with them without paying and often get away with it. So why does anybody pay for anything? Partly out of an inner morality, yes, but I think more importantly because they stand to get caught. They, personally, can be seen walking out of the store. They can be caught on video with something they haven't paid for in their hands.

The point is that there's accountability. There ostensibly isn't prevention. It's not like there's a giant magnet that will suck the toy out of your hands. You aren't _prevented_ from doing something illegal (in the same way that your car's accelerator will not prevent you from going more than 65 mph). No, what keeps you from stealing, and what keeps you from speeding, is accountability if you do those things.