Question What are the political impacts the telephone had on society?
What are the political impacts the cell phone had on society?
Answer The most direct impact would be the ability for politicians to have a "personal" contact with multiple voters/citizens w/o having to physically travel to meetings or homes. Also, in the modern area, the telephone has led to "polling."
Citizens/voters can be polled about how they feel about certain issues or candidates. They also can be identified. For instance, I call you in March and ask how you feel about abortion, you tell me you're pro-life. In September, you receive a letter from me (or my candidate) telling you how important the pro-life position is. You will then vote for me.
The cell phone on the other hand, has actually reduced the accuracy of those polling methods. Where as 98% of American households have telephones, only 45% of the population has cell phones, and these people are generally younger, have a higher income, are mobile, and have a phone number that cannot be found (by the polling company).
If I am trying to create an accurate poll, and I can't reach cell phone people, then I have under-sampled a certain segment of the population, and my poll will be inaccurate.
