The Verge reports today on a new survey from Nielsen that looks into how often people like to use their tablets and phones when they’re watching TV. The survey breaks down the results in terms of users in the US, UK, Germany and Italy, and finds that 88% of tablet owners and 86% of smartphone owners in the US use their devices at the same time as watching TV once per month, 45% of tablet owners and 41% of smartphone owners do so on a daily basis, and 26% of US tablet owners say that they use their tablet at the same time as watching TV several times a day. The UK came in a very close second behind the US, with 80% of tablet owners and 78% of smartphone owners using their devices when watching TV, and very similar figures for those who did so daily, with 24% of those surveyed saying that they liked to use their device and watch TV at the same time. At the other end of the scale, Italians and Germans were least likely to use their tablet or smartphone when watching TV, with 29% in both countries saying that they never use a tablet when watching TV, and 34% of Italians and 35% of Germans saying that they never use their smartphone when watching TV.
Neilsen also looked into what people are actually doing with their smartphones and tablets when watching TV, and found that checking email was the most frequent activity, either during the commercials or when watching a show. The device users also said that they liked to look up show-related information, or information about products that they had seen on adverts when watching TV shows.
Source: Americans top at using tablets and smartphones while watching TV | The Verge
Double Vision – Global Trends in Tablet and Smartphone Use while Watching TV | Nielsen Wire
