While few could argue that when it comes to watching TV slumped on the couch before a widescreen LCD or hunched over a PC keyboard, prolonged television watching is part and parcel of a sedentary lifestyle.
Survey reveals Web-surfing TV watchers are multitasking while viewing. Credit: VictoriaPeckham/Flickr.
However, a new survey conducted by Harris Interactive on behalf of video search service blinkx has revealed that TV watchers sat at their computers are a tad more active than those enjoying more traditional broadcasting -- at least in terms of attention and focus.
Of course, that increased activity doesn’t involve running on a treadmill or cycling on an exercise bike, but rather Web surfing while also enjoying their programming of choice.
According to the results of the survey, some 78 percent of adults who watch TV while online claim to be using the Web at the same time, while a further 35 percent said that simultaneous Web surfing and TV watching is something they engage in consistently.
In an area of the survey that’s bound to interest product advertisers, around 62 percent of those polled returned that they surf Web content connected to whatever it is they’re watching on the TV.
A sizeable 40 percent admitted to searching online for products or services noticed either in the broadcast they’re watching or in the commercial breaks dividing it.
Labelling those who enjoy TV programming while navigating the Web as “double-dippers” the Harris Interactive survey also revealed an age differential between those television/surfers who prefer to type and those who prefer to talk while watching.
The survey suggests that older watchers generally prefer to talk face-to-face about their TV of choice, while younger respondents somewhat predictably lean towards online chat rooms, e-mails, or instant messaging.
The video search survey which was carried out across more than 4,500 adults in the United States and Great Britain (over the age of 16) between February 13 and February 18.
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