According to Nielsen’s newly released Q2 2012 Cross-Platform Report, second screen television viewing is becoming a widespread trend, with smartphones in more than 50 percent of U.S. homes and tablets in almost 20 percent.

The data shows that 85 percent of mobile owners use their tablet or smartphone while watching television at least once a month, while 40 percent do so on a daily basis. 41 percent of those who use a second screen daily are using a tablet, while 39 percent are using a smartphone.

nielsensecondscreenInterestingly, smartphone usage skews younger, with half of 18 to 24 year olds using their phones while watching television, while tablet usage skews older. People aged 25–34 and 55–64 are the most likely to use tablets multiple times a day while watching TV, and women are more likely to use smartphones than men.

What’s more is that tablets have forded the oft-treacherous age gap. Thirty-six percent of people age 35–54 years old and 44 percent of people 55–64 years old use their tablets while watching TV in order to dive deeper into programming. Nearly a third of tablet users age 25–64 check sports scores while watching games too. In fact, a majority of owners use apps while watching TV across the board.

A small digital divide between the sexes has been happening with smartphones, however. Over 40 percent of female smartphone owners use their smartphones at least once a day while watching TV. Men, one the other hand, use their smartphones much less. About 35 percent say they put their smartphones in use while channel surfing, giving new meaning to the phrase “pass the remote.”

While checking TV programming and sports scores is popular with tablet users, smartphone users tend to use their devices to visit social networking sites, shop, and access email accounts.

Top Rated Comments

iPusch Avatar
167 months ago
interesting -__-

----------

Me yesterday while my girlfriend watched the Victoria Secret Fashion Show, lol
and you didn't watch it? :eek:
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
ArtOfWarfare Avatar
167 months ago
interesting -__-

----------



and you didn't watch it? :eek:

Some of it I did, but during Bieber's performance? Or the Pink segment? Some portions I certainly didn't watch, and I wish I hadn't heard.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
baryon Avatar
167 months ago
A great way to spend the evening: watching something boring on TV while checking Facebook about boring status updates of other people who are doing exactly what you are!
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
macs4nw Avatar
167 months ago
Between the iPhones and iPads in our house, I can't even get anyone's attention, while the TV is on, other than texting them, LOL.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
ArtOfWarfare Avatar
167 months ago
Me yesterday while my girlfriend watched the Victoria Secret Fashion Show, lol
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

iPhone 17 Pro and Air Feature

Two iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone Air Colors Appear to Scratch More Easily

Friday September 19, 2025 10:02 am PDT by
As reported by Bloomberg today, some of the new iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone Air models on display at Apple Stores today are already scratched and scuffed. French blog Consomac also reported on this topic. The scratches appear to be most prominent on models with darker finishes, including the iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max in Deep Blue, and the iPhone Air in Space Black. Images Credit: Consoma ...
iOS 26

Everything New in iOS 26.1 Beta 1

Monday September 22, 2025 12:44 pm PDT by
Apple released the first beta of iOS 26.1 today, just a week after launching iOS 26. iOS 26.1 mainly adds new languages to Apple Intelligence, but there are a few other features that are worth knowing about. New Apple Intelligence Languages Apple Intelligence is now available in Danish, Dutch, Norwegian, Portuguese (Portugal), Swedish, Turkish, Chinese (Traditional), and Vietnamese. AirPo...
apple tv 4k new orange

Next Apple TV Expected to Launch This Year With These New Features

Monday September 22, 2025 10:00 am PDT by
The next Apple TV is expected to be released later this year, and a handful of new features and changes have been rumored for the device. Below, we recap what to expect from the next Apple TV, according to rumors. Likely Features N1 Chip With Wi-Fi 7 Last year, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said the next Apple TV would be equipped with Apple's own combined Wi-Fi and Bluetooth chip, which is...
Apple Intelligence General Feature 2

iOS 26.1 Adds New Apple Intelligence Languages and Expands AirPods Live Translation

Monday September 22, 2025 11:15 am PDT by
With iOS 26.1, Apple Intelligence is gaining support for additional languages, including Danish, Dutch, Norwegian, Portuguese (Portugal), Swedish, Turkish, Chinese (Traditional), and Vietnamese. Apple announced plans to expand the languages that can be used with Apple Intelligence last year, and now the added language support is here. Apple Intelligence is now available in the following...
Apple Foldable Thumb

Foldable iPhone Like 'Two Titanium iPhone Airs' Joined at the Hinge

Monday September 22, 2025 2:16 am PDT by
Next year's rumored foldable iPhone will showcase an ultra-thin design resembling "two titanium iPhone Airs side-by-side," according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Writing in the Q&A section of his latest Power On newsletter, Gurman says Apple's first foldable device will be "super thin and a design achievement," combining Apple's thinnest iPhone form factor with cutting-edge folding...
iPhone 17 Pro and Air N1 Feature

Some iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Pro, and iPhone Air Users Experiencing Intermittent Wi-Fi Issue

Monday September 22, 2025 8:44 am PDT by
Apple's latest iPhone models launched on Friday, and some early adopters of the devices are experiencing intermittent Wi-Fi issues. Affected customers say Wi-Fi connectivity periodically cuts out on the iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Pro, iPhone 17 Pro Max, and iPhone Air, with hundreds of comments about the issue posted across the MacRumors Forums, Reddit, and the Apple Support Community over the...
iOS 26

iOS 26.0.1 Coming Soon, Likely With iPhone Air and iPhone 17 Pro Fix

Thursday September 18, 2025 9:17 am PDT by
Apple is preparing to release iOS 26.0.1, according to a private account on X with a proven track record of sharing information about future iOS versions. The update will have a build number of 23A350, or similar, the account said. It is likely that iOS 26.0.1 will fix a camera-related bug on the new iPhone Air and iPhone 17 Pro models. In his iPhone Air review, CNN Underscored's Henry T. ...