Personal radio from a social perspective

Abstract

Citizens band (CB) radio has risen from an obscure hobby to a public mania in the United States in just a few brief years. This represents perhaps the biggest explosion of communication technology in the U.S. since the advent of television. CB's cultural impact may not be as pervasive as TV's, but, in an odd way, it is a creative one in which every individual can write his own script. Much anecdotal evidence exists in the U.S. mass media of the societal impacts of this new technology, but little empirical data are available on the topic. One important consequence of this lack of hard data is that public policy on CB communication has been largely reactive, rather than planned. The investigation by Denver Research Institute will develop baseline data to help answer important policy-related issues concerning the behavioral and social consequences of the adoption and use of CB radio in the U.S. The answers to this and other questions concerning the diffusion, adoption, and use of CB radio will be highlighted in the DRI study which began in July 1977, with a grant from the National Science Foundation, and which will conclude in October 1978. Such answers will assist telecommunication policymakers, including the FCC and OTP, in a long-range evaluation of citizens band radio and will contribute to research knowledge of the diffusion of innovations and the impact of personal communication technology in the United States.