Younger generations are going to have no idea how the rest of us ever managed before the dawn of the internet age. Having to actually go to a record store and manually search through hundreds of records, cd’s or cassettes just to find the latest country music will seem like a completely alien, and primitive concept. The internet has made everything incredibly simple and streamlined that we don’t even acknowledge the complexity that simple tasks, like purchasing music, really have underlying the simple point and click mouse gesture.
It is possible that sometime in the not-so-distant future, the radio waves will be silent, as streaming radio becomes the mainstream and is incorporated into even more of the devices that we use on a day to day basis (Wi-Fi compatible toaster, anybody?). This should hardly be seen as a bad thing, as it is all for our own convenience, allowing us to focus on other facets of life that were previously unobserved due to the distractions and tedious ins and outs of our routines.
There is some reasonable concern about how the digital switch may take away jobs, since free radio may replace paid radio disk jockeys, but you have to remember to look for the silver lining. A digital environment provides more opportunity for entrepreneurial ambition. People will have to be entirely responsible for their own success on the basis that there is simply no other way to make a living. Rather than being seen as a problem, it should be seen as a challenge that presents new opportunity.