Radio: A Necessity or a Cherished Relic of the Past?

Radio has been a constant presence in society for decades. It has enabled the dissemination of a wealth of music and information to occur worldwide. When it was a revolutionary technology, the radio became the centerpiece of a family room. Although I didn’t live through this era of history, I still realize the significance that the radio brought to music and pop culture in general.

In a world where television and the internet didn’t exist, the only method of mass communication was the radio. It served purposes that transcended merely music and took on a form of information. As technology progressed, however, people became more interested in utilizing this technology for easy listening of music.

As this technology has bombarded the stage, radio has almost fallen by the wayside. Radio has always been there and it would be freaky to think that it would magically disappear. The truth is: that is where our society is taking us with our music listening habits. As compared to online listening and instant downloading of songs, radio seems archaic. Why should I have to find a channel that is playing music that I like when I can just flip to a Pandora station in seconds? Why should I spend countless hours sitting through horrid songs before I can get to the music I actually enjoy? Why should I suffer through so many commercial breaks that I can’t even breathe? This attitude has taken hold of a majority of people of today’s society.

Radio used to be a venue where the newest, coolest hits would make their debut to the public. If you heard it on the radio, you had to give it the time of day. While I may be slightly generalizing here, the radio usually just spits out a lot of the music that has already been crammed down our throats from hours of listening to Pandora or Spotify. I used to be able to tolerate simple radio listening but now stations like KissFM are almost unbearable at times. Nothing against KissFM (I love the Bobby Bones morning show) but radio in general seems to highlight only the most processed pieces of music that have already proven their success. When they find something that works, they just keep playing it and playing it until we, as listeners, feel like taking a bat to the radio.

The reason why the Internet has solved these problems for a lot of listeners is that WE are now in control. We are not at the mercy of the radio station operators. Rather, we can pick and choose what we like and what we don’t. With iTunes we can make our own playlist that is composed of only what we enjoy. While you may have to pay for it, many believe this trade-off is worth it. Radio, on the other hand, has failed to evolve with time (as can only be expected).

Other reasons why I don’t like the radio as much anymore is because they dominate their playtime with commercials. Out of the three main stations I like, I would be that at least two at any one time would be playing commercials if I got up out of my chair and turned on my radio (which won’t be happening). Even though commercials are creeping into technology such as Pandora, it is more tolerable and less frequent.

Lastly, radio has a way of manipulating their listeners into believing they enjoy certain music and bombarding them all the time with those select songs. While overplayed songs are an entirely different debate, I think that the radio is a MAJOR part of this process. When a new song is released on the radio, all the listeners are amazed that new music is actually being played so we all flock towards it instantaneously. It’s almost as if the radio people torture us with songs until they get monotonous and blasé so that we will flood towards anything new they release. Although that’s just a hypothesis, I still dislike the fact that radio shoves the same boring music at us 24/7.

Do I think that in a decade or so the radio will become completely obsolete? Maybe not but I can tell you that in that time it will have a significantly less impact on the world. I think it will become similar to the record player. Sad to say but as music forever progresses and evolves, the days of radio are soon to be forgotten.