Oz Internet users now take up 'media multi-tasking'

Melbourne, April 11 -- A survey has found that Australians are now into "media multi-tasking" with more than half revealing they use the Internet while also watching television.

According to the Nielsen Australian Online Consumer Report, last year 60 percent of adults who used the Internet said they watched TV while they were online, up from 49 percent in 2009.

Of the people who said they "two-screened" last year, nearly a third did so every day and 85 percent at least once a week.

Altogether, 77 percent of respondents said they juggled at least two forms of media at once, up from 69 percent in 2009.

Forty percent said they listened to the radio while they surfed the web. Only 10 percent said they had the TV and radio on simultaneously.

"The Internet is an ideal medium for that media multi-tasking. It's more in the control of the consumer," News.com.au quoted report co-author Lillian Zrim as saying.

When people did two-screen, 65 percent said the Internet had most of their attention, with only 14 percent saying the TV did.

The annual Nielsen report, which surveyed about 5800 Australian Internet users aged 16 and over, found overall Internet consumption jumped by a record four hours a week last year among the group, from an average of about 17 hours and 36 minutes in 2009 to 21 hours and 42 minutes.

As in previous years, men spent more time online than women, averaging 23 hours a week online compared to 20 hours.

Our consumption of all other forms of media also increased, including TV, radio, gaming, newspapers and magazines.

Published by HT Syndication with permission from Asian News International.

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