According to a new study posted on the Nielsen blog today, 40 percent of smartphone owners check their smartphone daily when watching television and 42 percent of tablet owners do the same. While other respondents admitted to checking their device several times a week, several times a month or only once a month, only 13 percent of respondents claimed to never use mobile devices while watching a program on television.However, forty-five percent of people that owned an eReader never use the reading device when watching television and only 14 percent use the eReader daily during the same time.
In addition, the study broke down typical usage between men and women. The most common activity while watching television for both men and women is checking email. Approximately 60 percent of respondents check their email on a smartphone or tablet while watching a television program or during the commercial break. Forty-six percent of men and women surf for unrelated information and 42 percent visit a social networking site while watching television. However, women are much more likely to check a social networking site like Facebook compared to men. Adversely, 44 percent of men check sport scores over a smartphone or tablet during television time compared to 17 percent of women.
Related to the television program or commercials, approximately 30 percent of people research information about the program while watching television. In regards to seeking out product information, about 20 percent will look online for more info about a product seen during a commercial or a product placement in a television program. Finally, 13 percent of Americans look up coupons or deals related to a commercial on their smartphone or tablet. Women were more likely to research information around coupons and deals while men were more likely to check up on products as well as read extended information about the television program.
