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And it is better to learn and lose $1-10 bucks in the real market than to learn to trade on a demo account, and then go to the real market and lose a much larger amount there. I would choose the first option.Learn to trade only on the real market, because a demo account teaches you false skills or does not instill them at all.
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I guess demo versions can be good for complete newbies, who don't know anything about trading and wish to learn some basics, without risking any money! But without the real risk learning process is slower, you don't get hurt when you make a mistake, and you don't get a reward when you do something good! Both reward and punishment are making a learning process more effective.
I agree that a demo account can create some false feelings, and that can become a big problem once a person decides to invest money and try trading! It will be like they know everything, they make money in a demo and it will be easy to make money in real trading... false self-confidence is worse than ignorance, it can lead you to huge problems!