Study: Only 16% Of People Use Social Media While Watching Prime Time TV

A newly released study from The Council of Research Excellence found only 16.1 percent of survey respondents claimed to have used social media while watching prime time television. To evaluate social media influence on TV viewing habits, 1,665 survey participants were instructed to log any social posts about a prime time TV show, as well […]

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A newly released study from The Council of Research Excellence found only 16.1 percent of survey respondents claimed to have used social media while watching prime time television.

To evaluate social media influence on TV viewing habits, 1,665 survey participants were instructed to log any social posts about a prime time TV show, as well as any time they discussed a TV show on their social networks. The study’s findings were based on 78,310 diary entries covering nearly 1,600 shows reported via a mobile app supplied by the research group.

According to the report, social media has very little influence on TV viewing habits, with more than 80 percent of the survey respondents claiming not to use social media while watching TV.

Of the 16.1 percent of respondents who claimed to use social media while watching TV, 7.3 reported their social media activity was related to the show they were watching, but 7.8 percent said their social media use was unrelated to a particular TV show.

Social Media Usage While Watching TV:

Social Media use while watching TVOf the social media platforms being used during prime time television viewing, Facebook was the most popular with 11.4 percent of survey respondents actively engaging on the network.

Twitter users measured almost less than a third of Facebook users, with only 3.3 percent of the survey respondents using Twitter during their TV viewing time.

Social Media Networks Used While Watching TV:

Social Media use while watching TV by network

The study included data around the type of shows most influenced by social media, with special programs at the top of the list, followed by Sci-Fi and sports shows.

While awards shows were not singled out in the study, the chairman of the research group’s social media committee Beth Rockwood told The New York Times, “The Emmys were a real standout in the period we were surveying.”

A New York Times write up on the study claimed awards shows drew more social media buzz, with Twitter having a “particular strength.”

Socially Connected TV Viewing By Show Genre:



Socially connected viewing by genre


Opinions expressed in this article are those of the guest author and not necessarily MarTech. Staff authors are listed here.


About the author

Amy Gesenhues
Contributor
Amy Gesenhues was a senior editor for Third Door Media, covering the latest news and updates for Marketing Land, Search Engine Land and MarTech Today. From 2009 to 2012, she was an award-winning syndicated columnist for a number of daily newspapers from New York to Texas. With more than ten years of marketing management experience, she has contributed to a variety of traditional and online publications, including MarketingProfs, SoftwareCEO, and Sales and Marketing Management Magazine. Read more of Amy's articles.

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