How Did The Radio Affect The 1920s

Who knew that radios would have this big of an impact on the twenties? Probably not its inventor, Guglielmo Marconi (McLaughlin). At least it was a good surprise, not just to him but also to anyone who could afford one in the twenties. They mostly used it as a source of entertainment, particularly at night. This was obviously a good business opportunity, which caused there to be six hundred radio stations in America by nineteen twenty-two (Eckstein et. al.). How did the radio make the twenties roar? Well, Americans could all listen to the same sports, news, and music as other people who lived far away from them now, so it brought them closer together (Alchin). It also made all of these things easier to access. Now, instead of going out and buying newspaper to hear the news, people could listen to it on the radio. Instead of having to go to all of those sports events, some of which you would miss because you were busy or lived too far away, you could listen to what was happening on the radio while it was happening. Even if you weren’t there, the radio could make you feel like you were, giving you both the excitement of being at the game and the knowledge of who won. …show more content…
A radio would not have been able to be heard over all of the people there, while the orchestra could. As for entertainment, there was already alcohol to make the partiers themselves entertaining to watch (Fitzgerald 40). If that was not enough, then the options of listening to people gossip about Gatsby and listening to the singer that was there in the third chapter were also available (Fitzgerald 44, 51). In conclusion, while the radio played a role in making the Roaring Twenties roar, The Great Gatsby just did not need