Transitioning from one social structure to a different one can be difficult for any human being. Drastic changes are made when a person leaves their peachy home life to a sociably different environment to pursue a college degree. Most students their first year of college tend to live in a dorm, and have to adapt to a new social structure. Music, a universal language, is a way for people to meet each other through the exploration of different types. A band or artist that one individual listens too, might influence another to listen to that same or similar type of music. Most people are aware that the "normal" college student doesn't have the funds to continually buy multiple overpriced compact discs. This is where the invention of the internet and media transferring programs come into play. In this day and age, it would be hard to believe that a college student has never used the internet before, especially when most professors put some type of emphasis on using it. Through the use of media transferring files such as Kazaa, people feel pressure to download and listen to the types of music they become exposed to in their new social structure whether it's a deviant act or not. Structure of society causes a deviant act, rather than the individual's own involvement in it. Social change that a college student becomes a part of can influence them to participate in a deviant act. Students focus on cultural goals rather than institutional means. Finally the accessibility of the internet and media transferring programs to college students. By taking a closer look at these points and Merton's theory on deviance one can become aware of why someone would participate in online music trading.
Change in a social atmosphere can make someone participate in something regardless if the act is deviant or not. Social structure exerts a definite pressure upon certain persons in the society to engage in nonconforming rather than conforming conduct.