Despite stereotypes, a study shows that it is women who pirate the most in this country, sometimes far ahead of men depending on the category of files on which we focus.
If around 2010 you were asked what someone who indulges in piracy of films or seriesyou might have imagined a rather young man with a hood and black glasses. Without mentioning the stereotype of clothing, it is above all the mention of a man that is interesting here. A study conducted in 2011 on 75,000 self-proclaimed hackers showed that only 5% of them were women. This extreme distribution is no longer relevant at all and the gender factor is not even mentioned in recent reports on the subject.
The study carried out by Northumbria University Newcastle clearly indicates a trend reversal. Entitled “a study on the consumption behavior of pirated works protected by copyright“, she is interested in two Asian countries, Thailand and Indonesia. Participants completed online questionnaires and completed interviews with researchers. The results show significant disparities.
In this country, women hack more than men, but not all types of files
If in Thailand, piracy of music, films, series, software and streaming of TV channels remains a predominantly male activity, this is not the case in Indonesia. In this country, women are the most represented pirates in all categories with the exception of illegal downloading of software. The gap is particularly large for movies and TV series : around 20% for men, almost 35% for women.
The report only notes these differences, without attempting to explain them. Its aim is in fact to demonstrate that “anti-piracy policies and strategies aimed at [l’éliminer] should take into account product categories and consumer characteristics, as well as national differences“. Among recent research integrating the male/female factor, we remember for example that anti-piracy campaigns clearly have different effects depending on who they are aimed at.