Multitasking around TV viewing continues to climb -- but those tasks are rarely related to TV viewing.
TiVo says over half of its 856 survey respondents -- 51% -- say they multitask
every time or almost every time they watch TV, compared to just over one third, 36%, from a year ago.
But only 5% say they are doing TV-related multitasking every time or almost every time
they watch TV, while 50% report never or almost never engaging in TV-related multitasking.
In addition, only 22% reported ever posting on social media sites about shows they watch, while 5% of
all respondents do this a few times a week or more.
TiVo says TV viewing remains viewers' primary task while multitasking -- 47% of the time. This has grown from 39% a year ago. At the same
time, TiVo also says 27% of their TV time is spent only watching TV -- with no multitasking -- down from 35% in 2013.
advertisement
advertisement
Top TV-time activities include browsing the Internet, at 74%; reading or
sending email, at 73%; and text messaging, 71%.
"Even given the proliferation of multitasking, viewers remain primarily focused on the television shows they are watching," said Jonathan
Steuer, chief research officer for TiVo.
But maybe not during commercials. TiVo says that during commercial breaks, 56% say they are multitasking every time or almost every time. Overall, 58%
use another device almost every or every time they watch TV.
TiVo conducted an online survey of 856 people between August 21 and 26, 2014. All survey participants were over the age of 18 and
watched at least seven hours of TV per week on any device.
"Watching TV while working on a Laptop" photo from
Shutterstock.