Learn It, Teach It, Write It - The Radio

 By Chloe Brussard

    Walking to class everyday, I always make sure that my headphones are all charged so I can listen to music while I walk. For some reason, I don't like when I have to walk without my music. How would you feel if someone took away your music? Took away the convenience of listening to music whenever you want? That would be a reality if not for the invention of the radio. 

    We can thank Guglielmo Marconi for bringing electromagnetic waves into the world. He was awarded the first wireless telegraphy patent in 1896, and then in 1901. he founded his own commercial wireless company and broadcasted the first transatlantic signal (morse code). 

    It is so crazy to think that the radio began with morse code and is now so widely used. By 1998, over 95% of Americans report listening to the radio at least once a week. The radio was the first wireless mode of communication. Nowadays, we have wireless communication with us at all time like our phones and our computers. Even our cars can provide us with wireless communication, like hands free mode, where you can still talk to someone but without holding onto a phone. And along with hands free, we also have our radios.

    Driving into Boston for work, my dad would always listen to the same radio station: 98.5 The Sport Hub. He would catch up on sports games and the lives of athletes. Imagine if he couldn't do that. If he missed a game, he wouldn't have the chance to catch up on it the next day. The convenience that the radio gives people is so underrated. Driving in silence doesn't sound as fun as driving while listening to the radio, or Spotify or Pandora. 

    Once the radio became the new big thing, broadcasting companies were desperate to get onto it. Current broadcasting networks like NBC, BBC and CBS have been around since the 1920's and are still running today. Some of the networks, though, began to broadcast entertainment media, instead of just news, which made their channels much more popular. Before the 1920's, the radio was mostly used to contact ships at sea. They would communicate through morse code to neighboring ships during WW1. It wasn't until after the war ended when the radio gained popularity, eventually creating the Top 40 (which is similar to current day Top 100 Billboard Hits). 

    But, as a new invention comes to the U.S., the old must go. As the radio business grew, the record player business began to diminish. Buying a radio and getting the channels that came along with it was much cheaper than going out and buying record players for music. The record business didn't recover until around 40 years later, with the help of Millennial and Generation Z. Now, going record shopping has become an experience that people enjoy. With our desire to bring back old trends like mom jeans, scrunchies, high waisted jeans, and monochromatic outfits, the past is slowly becoming the present. 

    Spotify, Pandora, Amazon Music, SoundCloud, and Apple Music are all examples of radios that would not exist had the radio never been invented. Every day I would walk to class in while listening to the noises around me instead of listening to ABBA or Taylor Swift. And personally, I would much rather listen to ABBA than the roar of engines.  

    I feel like we kind of take for granted technology today. We have easy access to phones, the internet, the radio, and so much more. If all those things just up and left, the world would go into a frenzy. Communication between people would be limited and difficult. So next time you're driving in your car and listening to the radio, think about how it would feel to not have that. Begin to appreciate those pieces of technology that help make our days easier, because we never know if they'll just up and disappear.