What do you do while watching TV? People watch TV still, right? I guess I mean it in the classic sense. Like, in your living room, on an actual television. Do you multitask? If and when I find myself in front of the tube, I’m generally on Facebook. That I’m on Facebook all the time anyway is besides the point.
Apparently, I’m not alone – a study by YouGov of over 2000 people has found that folks tend to do the social network dance while watching TV. A lot of folks.
YouGov calls the phenomenon ‘media stacking’, and revealed that 86% of those asked in the 18-24 demographic have combined their two vices, watching a TV show while simultaneously discussing it through a messenger program. Additionally, 56% will text while watching, and 55% are using Twitter and Facebook to tweet (and, uh… face? Do we call that ‘facing’? ‘Updating one’s status’ sounds really cumbersome and dumb – dumbersome) about their shows.
“The old adage that TV is a lean back experience compared to lean forward web surfing no longer holds true,” says Ivan Ristic of Diffusion, who worked alongside YouGov for the study. “Our research shows that increasingly people are doing both simultaneously.”
I, for one, can certainly assure Ivan that his statement is correct. And I’m fine with using two devices, frankly; but the data in the study does tend to agree with the idea that television and the internet need to become one. A third of the viewers polled demanded to be able to interact with their shows, being able to vote on things like reality television on-the-fly.
I guess I’m okay with the inevitability of the situation. But by the gods, my Corontation Street had best not be interrupted by blinking tweets all the time, or I will be one grumpy gus, let me tell you.
