The Radio

I love media and all the different forms of it. I've mentioned television and internet, which I use all the time. But, there's one thing I use that can really get me upset: the radio. I mostly use the radio in the car, when I'm going to or from school. I can really love it at times, or I'll just shut it off and sit in silence. There are a few reasons why the radio is not my favorite form of media: advertisements, songs, and power.

First off is an ongoing theme on my blog: advertisements. Radios are infamous for the technique of repetition, because the ads are all based on listening. In order to get a product stuck in our memory, I guess we need a constant reminder of what the product is. This is probably the only technique being used, besides the tone of the voices and the music. However, without no visual accomplice, the ads don't exactly give me an emotional effect. Not only that, but these ads seem to go on forever! It may just be because that's what all my focus is on, but I feel like there's five ads to every single song that I come across. These ads are least impacting on me out of all media, and they annoy me the most.

Next are the songs, which can also be a nuisance. When I turn on the radio, I expect to be blasted with a variety of different songs that both remind me how good music is, and introduce me to new artists that are waiting to be discovered. This is not the case. I'll go through ten channels, and half of them are playing the same song. And, they have been playing that song for months. There is usually no variety of songs, which is disappointing. Again, this is more annoying than entertaining, and it only makes me sick of the five songs that play on repeat. 

Lastly, the power struggle that the radio creates is very stressful. The radio is a form of media that can be easily controlled; there's always a place to turn it off or change it completely. So, being the youngest child of two siblings, the chance to control the radio can be a battle. I want to listen to rap, my sister wants to listen to NPR, and my brother doesn't listen to the radio. If we ever reach that unfortunate situation where we're all in the car together, it seems that the radio will do more harm than good. 

The radio can be good at times, but it definitely has downsides. I'll still listen to it often, however. Mostly when I have nothing better to do, or if my phone is out of charge.