(June 16, 2005) -- We can all recall the humble beginnings of Napster, the first wildly popular peer-to-peer (p2p) file-sharing program, since our middle school days. Since then the Record Industry Association of America (RIAA), had shut it down, forcing us to wonder how will we make it through freshman year without free music?

From then until now, there has been no shortage of file-sharing programs, supplying teens with free illegal music. However, some companies have been trying to introduce legality into music downloads, such as iTunes and Napster, but not the good old Napster we used to download “Hit me baby one more time" back in middle school.

Why has downloading music been so popular for our generation? Simple, it’s free music. What else could a teen with no job ask for? With music playing such a large role in our daily lives, and with little-to-no risk for getting caught, our generation would prefer to download music rather than buy it, with a job or not. Despite the illegality, most students don’t see downloading music, movies or programs as wrong.

Many see file sharing as a way to promote music, since a majority of albums are leaked onto the Internet before their release, but then there are those who do it the old fashioned-way. “I’ll still buy CDs from my favorite bands, though. I have to show my support some way,” said Jason Saboury. “Besides, a lot of the bands I like are obscure, and I can’t find their music online anyway.”

With some of us moving to dorm rooms with T1 broadband connections to the Internet, there is no doubt that use of peer-to-peer programs will stop. “And besides,” as Saboury said, “we have to save money in college somehow!”