The growing popularity of computer-based activities was widely predict

Question

Which of the following most logically completes the argument?

The growing popularity of computer-based activities was widely predicted to result in a corresponding decline in television viewing. Recent studies have found that, in the United States, people who own computers watch, on average, significantly less television than people who do not own computers. In itself, however, this finding does very little to show that computer use tends to reduce television viewing time, since _______.

(A) many people who watch little or no television do not own a computer.

(B) even though most computer owners in the United States watch significantly less television than the national average, some computer owners watch far more television than the national average.

(C) computer owners in the United States predominately belong to a demographic group that have long been known to spend less time watching television than the population as a whole does.

(D) many computer owners in the United States have enough leisure time that spending significant amounts of time on the computer still leaves ample time for watching television.

(E) many people use their computers primarily for tasks such as correspondence that can be done more rapidly on the computer, and doing so leaves more leisure time for watching television.

Note: There are two questions available with the similar stimulus and same first line but different question. The other question (evaluate the argument) is discussed in: https://gmatclub.com/forum/the-growing-p ... 13225.html

bigoyal · Accepted Answer

IMO C

Evidence: Study showing people who own computers less television than people who do not own computers.
Conclusion: Television viewing has declined due to computers.

Question has been asked to weaken the argument.

(A) many people who watch little or no television do not own a computer.  -Irrelevant, since we are concerned about comparison between TV and computer, rather then between TV and non-computer. 
(B) even though most computer owners in the United States watch significantly less television than the national average, some computer owners watch far more television than the national average.  -Irrelevant, its just talking about some computer owners watching TV. 
(C) computer owners in the United States predominately belong to a demographic group that have long been known to spend less time watching television than the population as a whole does.  -Correct, weakens the argument by directly challenging the conclusion, even though the survey result is correct as the survey is giving average results.  
(D) many computer owners in the United States have enough leisure time that spending significant amounts of time on the computer still leaves ample time for watching television.  -Irrelevant, we are just concerned about comparing two different group of people, i.e computer owners and non-computer owners. Doesn't matter if computer owners are spending lot of time on TV, but we don't know if non-computer owners are spending even more time 
(E) many people use their computers primarily for tasks such as correspondence that can be done more rapidly on the computer, and doing so leaves more leisure time for watching television.  -Same error, as in D

GMATNinja · Answer

We are told that people who own computers watch significantly less television than people who do not own computers. But does that mean that computer use tends to REDUCE television viewing time? According to the author, it does not.

In other words, the author's conclusion is that the findings from the study do "very little to show that computer use tends to reduce television viewing time." We need an answer choice that supports this conclusion:

Choice (D) tells us that the computer users are not interested in watching television. But would those people be MORE interested in watching television if they did not own computers? Perhaps they would not, and that would support the author's point of view. But perhaps they WOULD watch more television if they did not own computers, and that would go against the author's argument.

Choice (D) may or may not support the author's conclusion, so it is not the best answer.

Choice (E) suggests that computer use leaves more time for television watching. But we already know that people with computers watch less television that people without computers.

Sure, (E) suggests that computer users would have less time for television if their computers were taken away. But we have no way of knowing whether computer owners would actually watch more or less television if their computers were taken away.

If people with computers watch less television, why can't we conclude that computer use tends to  reduce  television watching time? Choice (E) does not answer this question, so it should be eliminated.

Choice (C), on the other hand, does answer this question. (C) tells us that computer owners belong to a group that spends less time watching television. So these people have always watched less television. It just so happens that these people also tend to own computers, but computer use did not  cause  them to watch less television. They've always watched less television, so the finding is not related to the growing popularity of computer-based activities.

(C) is the best answer.

KarishmaB · Answer

- Use of computers was expected to decrease TV viewing.
Finding - ON AVERAGE, computer owners watch much less TV than those who do not own computers

This finding does very little to show that computer use tends to reduce television viewing time, since _______.

So the first part says that this finding does not show that computer use reduces TV viewing. We need the reason why it doesn't show that computer use reduces tv viewing. 
What could be a possible reason? If we were to say that these people used to watch very less TV even before they got computers then we could say that computer use doesn't reduce TV.

Look these are two different aspects:
- Computer owners watch less TV - Usually people who have computers are not into TV
- Computer use reduces TV - So Mr X bought a computer and his TV time reduced by half

Our finding talks about the first one - computer owners watch less TV.

We want to say that this does not imply the second one. Of course it doesn't imply the second one. Perhaps people who buy computers are those who anyway don't watch TV. Perhaps they don't like to watch TV and hence buy computers to pass time instead - we don't know.
The point is that just because "owning computers" and "watching less TV" co-exist, it doesn't imply causal relation. It doesn't mean that owning computer is the reason for less tv watching.

So what would help to say that computer owning may not be the cause of less tv viewing?

(A) many people who watch little or no television do not own a computer.

Irrelevant set. We need to worry about those who own computers and their habits.

(B) even though most computer owners in the United States watch significantly less television than the national average, some computer owners watch far more television than the national average.

We are talking about averages. Saying that some of the set are at the far end is irrelevant. If some watch far more, there are many others that watch far less to bring the average down.

(C) computer owners in the United States predominately belong to a demographic group that have long been known to spend less time watching television than the population as a whole does.

Correct. So this says that people who own computers are those who anyway watch less TV. Say the intellectuals buy computers. These intellectuals may anyway be watching less TV and investing more time in books etc.

(D) many computer owners in the United States have enough leisure time that spending significant amounts of time on the computer still leaves ample time for watching television.

This says that people have enough time to do both. So this says that shortage of time is not the cause of anything. But we have to figure out whether computer owning is the reason for less TV watching or not. Since time has no influence, it doesn't help us either way.

(E) many people use their computers primarily for tasks such as correspondence that can be done more rapidly on the computer, and doing so leaves more leisure time for watching television.

This says that computer users have more time. This could be the reason why computer users watch MORE TV but that is not our argument. Our discussion is about computer users watching less TV. Hence this is irrelevant.

Answer (C)

ExpertsGlobal5 · Answer

Dear Friends,

Here is a detailed explanation of this question-

Mind-map:  Studies found computer owners watch less TV → Findings do not prove computer ownership reduces TV viewing.

Missing link:  Between reduced TV watching amongst computer owners and rejection of a cause-effect relationship between computer ownership and reduced TV watching.

Expectation from the correct answer choice:  To undermine link between computer ownership and decline in TV watching.

Choice A:  This answer choice does not speak of people who own both a computer and watch television, and in doing so, does not altogether consider, and consequently does not undermine, the link between computer ownership and a decline in television viewership; therefore, it is an incorrect answer choice.
 Choice B:  This answer choice is irrelevant as most computer owners, as per this answer choice, watch greatly less television than the national average while some do not; the usage of ‘most’ and ‘some,’ both of which are unspecific terms, means that the findings cannot be refuted on the basis of this answer. Additionally, this answer choice compares the television watching time of computer owners to the national average time spent on watching television, a measure which is not mentioned in the passage at all, and does not address the link between computer ownership and reduced television watching in the slightest; as this answer choice does not undermine the link between computer ownership and decline in TV watching, it is an incorrect answer choice. 
 Choice C:  This answer choice provides an additional factor explaining the decline in television watching amongst computer owners that precedes the fact of their ownership of the computers, by establishing that the majority of computer owners belong to a group that rarely watched television prior to owning a computer; this means that the results of the findings cannot lead one to the logical conclusion that computer ownership in itself causes reduced television watching as the computer owners who report watching lesser television did as much prior to owning a computer as well; thus, it presents an explanation of the correspondence between computer ownership and reduced television watching that undermines the cause-and-effect relationship between the two; therefore, it is the correct answer choice.
 Choice D:  This answer choice posits that many computer owners have enough leisure time to spend on both computer work and television watching, but it only refers to the link between computer ownership and watching television tangentially, and does not make it clear if the increased leisure time after using a computer is actually spent on watching television; therefore, it is an incorrect answer choice. 
 Choice E:  This answer choice establishes that owning a computer allows one greater leisure to watch television, but does not make it clear that this free time is spent on watching television, thereby omitting to address the link between computer ownership and television watching; therefore, it is an incorrect answer choice.

Hence, C is the best answer choice.

To understand the concept of "Characteristics of a Para-completion Statement on GMAT Critical Reasoning," you may want to watch the following video (~3 minutes):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RM3taYY4GMw

All the best!
Experts' Global Team

age · Answer

IMO C....

"The growing popularity of computer-based activities was widely predicted to result in a corresonding decline in television viewing"

how we will conter the point...?? by showing that people who are using computers don't watch television much in past also...C only fits

hasham222 · Answer

I hope this helps.

Please post the OA.

krishp84 · Answer

For confirmation, you can negate the Assumption - C in this case and confirm if it weakens the 
Conclusion -"  this finding does very little to show that computer use tends to reduce television viewing time "

Detran · Answer

Option C gives us a reason to doubt that computer use causes people to see less television. It suggest another cause.

Answer E does not do anything to the argument. Even if a person has more time to watch tv because of computer, it does not mean they will still watch at a normal rate. It is weak evidence to say that a person can still watch tv normally.

mbmanoj · Answer

I am totally convinced with C.
But, I cannot understand why E is not true.
According to the question we have to find an option that deny the reasoning that computer viewing tends to reduce tv viewing . So, if people work on comp just to save time for them to watch tv, this option strongly denies the reasoning and so E is the right option.

Please give your thoughts.

AdmitJA · Answer

F1: view that spending more time on Computer Based Activities leads to lesser TV viewing
F2: Computer owners spend lesser time viewing TV than non computer owners
F3: owning computers doesn't necessarily lead to lesser TV viewing because .....

we need something which compares computer owners and non owners and explains why owning a computer will not lead to lesser TV viewing

A - wrong reverse causation. OUT
B - some vs many. Not good enough.
C - Sites diff between computer owners and non owners. HOLD
D - doesn't compare computer owners with non owners. OUT
E - doesn't compare computer owners with non owners. OUT

C is the best option!

LogicGuru1 · Answer

The correct answer is C.

All you have to do is to tell why this study should not the believed.
You do not even have to use your brains to get the correct option. 
just add option C at the end and read the entire argument again. 
The validity, cogency and strength of the argument is best as compared to all other options. 
Here, now read it 
The growing popularity of computer-based activities was widely predicted to result in a corresponding decline in television viewing.  Recent studies have found that, in the United States, people who own computers watch, on average, significantly less television than people who do not own computers . In itself, however,  this finding does very little to show that computer use tends to reduce television viewing time , since  computer owners in the United States predominately belong to a demographic group that have long been known to spend less time watching television  than the population as a whole does.

Make sense :- those people who have computer were never really a fan of watching TV, so even if the study say that computer owner watch less TV, this fact does nothing to prove anything. It is known from the start that computer owners are not tv watchers.

LakerFan24 · Answer

Which of the following most logically completes the argument?

The growing popularity of computer-based activities was widely predicted to result in a corresponding decline in television viewing. Recent studies have found that, in the United States, people who own computers watch, on average, significantly less television than people who do not own computers. In itself, however, this finding does very little to show that computer use tends to reduce television viewing time, since _______.

(A) many people who watch little or no television do not own a computer.

(B) even though most computer owners in the United States watch significantly less television than the national average, some computer owners watch far more television than the national average.

(C) computer owners in the United States predominately belong to a demographic group that have long been known to spend less time watching television than the population as a whole does.

(D) many computer owners in the United States have enough leisure time that spending significant amounts of time on the computer still leaves ample time for watching television.

(E) many people use their computers primarily for tasks such as correspondence that can be done more rapidly on the computer, and doing so leaves more leisure time for watching television.

Note: There are two questions available with the similar stimulus and same first line but different question. The other question (evaluate the argument) is discussed in: https://gmatclub.com/forum/the-growing-p ... 13225.html

Show Answer

Official Answer

C

Prashant10692 · Answer

Could anyone correct my logic?

I chose D.
 chesstitans

For the reason that the many computer owners in the United States have enough leisure time that spending significant amounts of time on the computer still leaves ample time for watching television.

So if they are not watching tv some other reason is there i.e. other than computer use because of which they are not interested in watching television.

ucb2k7 · Answer

Hi  mikemcgarry ,

Please explain as to why (D) or (E) is wrong.

shuvodip04 · Answer

Understanding the Argument  
It was a prediction that growing popularity of computer based activities causes a decline in television viewing. A recent study supports this view by stating the computer owners watch less television than people who don't own a computer.
However the author states that based on the above premises it cannot be not concluded that computer use reduces television viewing time.

My thought process  
The author concludes that the study is not conclusive to prove that computer use reduces television viewing.
Given. i) Growing popularity of computer activities reduces television viewing,
 ii) Computer users watch less television.
We have to look for a statement that supports author's conclusion.

Possible Strengthener : So a possible strengthener will be a statement that provides a linkage between the study which supports that computer owners watch less television and authors conclusion. May be the people who own a computer generally watch less television, so even if they didn't own a computer they would still watch less television

Answer Choice Analysis

(A) many people who watch little or no television do not own a computer.- the argument is concerned about people who don't own a computer.It makes a conclusion about people who own computer.

(B) even though most computer owners in the United States watch significantly less television than the national average, some computer owners watch far more television than the national average.-

(C) computer owners in the United States predominately belong to a demographic group that have long been known to spend less time watching television than the population as a whole does. This is the correct choice. It states that the people who own a computer belong to demographic where they generally spend less time watching television.So these people watch less television generally , they would continue to watch less television even if they didn't own a computer.

(D) many computer owners in the United States have enough leisure time that spending significant amounts of time on the computer still leaves ample time for watching television.- It can't be concluded from this statement that whether owning a computer reduced their television viewing

(E) many people use their computers primarily for tasks such as correspondence that can be done more rapidly on the computer, and doing so leaves more leisure time for watching television.

This says that computer users have more time. This could be the reason why computer users watch MORE TV but that is not our argument. Our discussion is about computer users watching less TV. Hence this is irrelevant.

TarunTilokani · Answer

This is actually a tricky question. Got this question on the GMAT PREP 2 took me quite a while to solve it.

Argument Analysis : 
1st Premise: The growing popularity of computer-based activities was widely predicted to result in a corresponding decline in television viewing.
2nd Premise: Recent studies have found something. What have they found ??? People who own computers watch, on average, significantly less television than people who do not own computers.

Conclusion:  this finding does very little to show that computer use tends to reduce television viewing time . The author ends the argument with SINCE. Basically, the author wanted to give us reasoning as to WHY he thinks the study was not able to show a causal relationship (computer uses---->reduce in television viewing time). He left that information for us to figure out.

So now we have to find out why the findings were not able to establish a causal relation b/w computer usage and reduction in television time. This could happen when we are conducting a survey, we simply take a sample set of people who have computers and known to spend less time watching television. Then we take this finding and generalize it for the entire population. This is an example where we fail to establish a causal relationship cause that sample set already exists.

D and E simply go against the premise . The finding has already shown that (computer uses---->reduce in television viewing time). What we are told to find is why the author thinks the finding was not able to establish the causal relation b/w computer usage and reduction in television time.

Exactly what Option C tells us: computer owners in the United States predominately belong to a demographic group that have long been known to spend less time watching television than the population as a whole does.  This option tells us why the finding was not able to establish a causal relation b/w computer usage and reduction in television time.

kornn · Answer

Dear VeritasKarishma , Thank you for your response

However, I think the bolded portion above supports the conclusion in the passage -- i.e. this finding does very LITTLE to show that computer use tends to REDUCE television viewing time Because choice E. presents the reason why computer users watch MORE TV, it supports the conclusion that the finding in the passage does NOT show that computer users watch LESS TV. In other words, choice E. rules out the computer uses as the possible causes, and hence suggests that there must be other alternate reason for this correlation. I'm very confused here. Please help

KarishmaB · Answer

Finding - ON AVERAGE, computer owners watch much less TV than those who do not own computers
Conclusion from the finding - computer use tends to reduce television viewing time

The author is going to give a reason to weaken the conclusion of the finding. That is the option we need to find.

Please note: these are two different aspects:
-  Computer owners watch less TV  - Usually people who have computers are not into TV
-  Computer use reduces TV  - So Mr X bought a computer and his TV time reduced by half

We found that computer owners watch less TV and concluded that computer use reduces TV. This, we are saying is wrong. We need to weaken this connect.
So we say that computer owners didn't watch TV even before they got computers. So it WAS NOT the computer that reduced TV viewing. It is just the kind of people they are.

(E) many people use their computers primarily for tasks such as correspondence that can be done more rapidly on the computer, and doing so leaves more leisure time for watching television.

This says that computers generate more free time. Does that imply anything about whether computer use increases/reduces TV time? No. Free time does not automatically convert to TV time. There is no implication about TV time here at all. So this is irrelevant.

kornn · Answer

Dear  VeritasKarishma ,

Q1. According to the bolded portion, more free time could then be translated into watching YouTube on a computer or studying Coursera online, right?

If that's the case, then computer uses actually REDUCE TV time, going AGAINST the conclusion stated in the passage.

Is my thinking fine?

Q2. This part in choice E. is very misleading :  and doing so leaves  more leisure time for  watching television  .

More free time FOR watching TV does NOT mean that that free time HAS TO / MUST BE SPENT in watching TV, right?

The growing popularity of computer-based activities was widely predict

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The growing popularity of computer-based activities was widely predict

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