QUESTION 1

Relevant text: “Additionally, he uses data collected from surveys, from both middle management and upper management, to assess the effect, if any, that such displacement has had.” The fact that only middle and upper management were surveyed and not the company as a whole limits the scope of the findings. Therefore, if (D) is true, then the validity of Gershin’s findings is challenged: we don’t actually know what those who use social media feel. (A) is wrong. Gershin finds that social media tools can help in the planning of social events. That some people don’t use social media to plan social events doesn’t fundamentally challenge the validity of Gershin’s findings: many people do use social media to plan social events and, according to the study, they find it helpful in doing so. (B) is also wrong. Gershin’s findings describe both the positive and negative effects of social media. Even if more managers did mention the negative effects, that’s still consistent with what Gershin describes regarding redundancy. That is, a few could mention the positive effects of social events, while the majority focus on redundancy. (C) is a close answer. However, Gershin’s focus on redundancy pertains to traditional communication. In (C), redundancy pertains to the planning of social events. (E) is wrong. The fact that social media tends to be redundant with traditional forms of communication, one of Gershin’s findings, isn’t incompatible with (E). Gershin describes how social media serves as a redundant layer of communication. That redundancy also happens in other forms of communication doesn’t weaken Gershin’s claim that redundant communication happens when people use social media.