Well, my friend, he's kinda poor he can't afford some books and some streaming services, so he pirates. He pirate books, audiobook and videos and other stuff. Sometimes he buys books he likes a lot out of loyalty to the author (yeah, I don't understand it either), he likes to read physical books, but yeah, if he hates the author or just wants to skim through it, he will download the book.
He usually doesn't like to pirate from small companies or professors who are trying to make a living by selling books, but from millionaires & plenty of mega corps which already have loads of money, he feels like it's the right move to pirate
Also, have you ever noticed that you have felt that the value of a product has decreased just because you didn't pay for it, thus you are less interested to read it? i.e., had you paid for the book, you would have more likely read that book.
He says he will buy stuff when his time is more valuable than money, let's all hope that day is soon.
What are your piracy habits?
My time is more valuable than money, but I still pirate. To me it's not about money but principles.
If I pay for something and still can't "own" it, I pirate.
If a generous portion of the money I pay isn't going to the rightful individuals but to our corporate overlords, I pirate.
If my internet freedom is threatened, I pirate.
If someone pirates due to lack of money and one day they have enough, I suggest keep pirating and donate to FOSS and pay to individual creators.