An Analysis of Ethics in Entertainment

Abstract

Entertainment comes in many forms: music, videos, art, and literature are a few. These forms of entertainment, when used over the Internet, could result in some individuals crossing the line between reality and delusion. When the line is crossed, these individuals become fixated on obtaining more of the entertainment; which may result in doing so illegally. In this paper, I will analyze ethics in entertainment. An earlier study conducted by Charles W. Harvey (2004) is replicated, adding questions about the psychological effects of hyperreality and consequences of illegally downloading music from the Internet and copyright infringement. The misuse of intellectual property is not a new phenomenon within the entertainment or information technology industry. The Internet is a major vehicle for ethics violations of this sort. The purpose of this study is to report qualitative data using interpretive research obtained from published articles and Internet works. This study will use the framework of Orlikowski and Baroudi (1991) and Swanson and Ramiller (1993) for content analysis. The methodological procedures of Husserl were used to aide in obtaining the findings; which resulted in producing theoretical data regarding the lack of ethics in entertainment and information technology and its psychological effects on the consumers and members of the entertainment industry .

CONTENTS

Abstract …………………………………………………………………………………………...2

Table of Contents …………………………………………………………………………………3

History of the Internet……………………………………………………………………………..4

Methodology………………………………………………………………………………………5

Background Assumptions and Purposes…………………………………………………………..8

Hypothesis…………………………………………………………………………………………9

Research Question………………………………………………………………………………...9

Discussion………………………………………………………………………………………..10

Results……………………………………………………………………………………………11

Conclusion……………………………………………………………………………………….25

References 26

AN ANALYSIS OF ETHICS IN ENTERTAINMENT

History of the Internet

The Internet has quickly emerged to become an important tool for the distribution, marketing and sales of music, movies and other forms of entertainment. These products and services are easily accessible to the consumer, which heightens the likelihood of negative psychological and ethical effects of unlimited overexposure to this medium. In order to understand the present state of the Internet, I will provide readers with a brief history of the Internet.

The Internet was created in the early 1960s by a few men who envisioned the vast possibilities that would be of value in allowing computers to share information on research and development within the scientific and military fields. In 1962, J.C.R. Licklider of MIT, first planned a global network of computers and transferred over to the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) to spearhead the development of the project. The concept of Internet connectivity was developed by Leonard Kleinrock of MIT. He created the theory of packet