Landline telephones are becoming virtually obsolete as more and more Americans communicate exclusively through cell phones and the Internet. An online poll conducted earlier this year showed that 85 percent of respondents preferred to communicate through the Internet rather than a landline. The majority of respondents didn't even own a landline phone. These findings suggest that surveys previously conducted by calling landline phones need to be conducted online instead. This is the only way to truly reflect the opinions of the country's majority. How does the poll cited affect the argument? 1 It provides information that is pertinent to landline phones but is probably outdated. 2 It presents information skewed to favor Internet users due to the way it was conducted. 3 It offers some interesting information that is irrelevant to the argument about online polls.
The poll cited in the argument affects the argument by providing information that is skewed to favor Internet users due to the way it was conducted. The argument states that surveys previously conducted by calling landline phones need to be conducted online instead in order to truly reflect the opinions of the majority. However, the poll only takes into account the preferences of Internet users, as 85 percent of the respondents preferred to communicate through the Internet rather than a landline. Therefore, it presents information that is relevant to the argument but is skewed towards a specific group. The correct answer is 2) It presents information skewed to favor Internet users due to the way it was conducted.
