Most Brits surf or text while watching TV

Over half of British people regularly use one other type of media while watching television, a new report has revealed.

According to YouGov research commissioned by social media agency Diffusion, 58% of the 2,000 consumers surveyed said that they use online or mobile services while watching TV programmes.

Around a third of respondents said that they have discussed TV shows via text message, while 21% have done so on Facebook and 12% have chatted over an instant messenger service.

The trend, known as 'media stacking', is most prevalent among 18 to 24-year-olds, as 76% of respondents in that age group regularly browse the internet while watching television.

The majority (86%) of 18 to 24-year-olds surveyed said that they have commented about a TV programme or discussed it with other people through digital channels, including 56% by SMS, 55% via Facebook and 40% over instant messenger. One in ten people in this age group has also commented about shows they are watching on forums or blogs.

In the survey, 40% of 18 to 24-year-old women and 29% of 18 to 24-year-old men said that they mostly use social networking sites such as Twitter and Facebook while watching TV.

Around a third of all viewers would like to be able to use internet services to vote on shows such as The X Factor, and then see the results reflected on screen.

An increasing number of companies are exploring options for bringing internet services to the TV screen, including the forthcoming Google TV service and the IPTV joint venture Project Canvas.

According to the research, Google is the most popular (28%) site that people would like to access on the TV screen. A quarter of those surveyed would like to access online retail sites, such as Amazon and ASOS, while 26% would like to use Facebook and Twitter.

YouTube was pinpointed by 18% of men as being desirable for the TV screen, but only 8% of women wanted to use the video site in such a way.

Around a third (27%) of respondents would like to receive on-screen information about the clothes being worn by actors or the music being played on shows, including options for where to buy them. That increased to 42% among 18 to 24-year-olds.

Interestingly, almost a third of 18 to 24-year-olds surveyed said that they wanted to use interactive voting to change the plot or direction of programmes that they are watching.

"Social media is really making TV social again and creating a deeper and extended shared viewing experience," said Diffusion director Ivan Ristic.

"It's no longer good enough to discuss the latest episode of Mad Men or Glee the following day at work, people are creating, sharing and reading real-time reactions via social media channels."

He added: "The old adage that TV is a lean-back experience compared to lean-forward web surfing no longer holds true, our research shows that increasingly people are doing both simultaneously.

"The challenge for the TV industry is how best to take advantage of this trend to drive word-of-mouth buzz around programming, build a more loyal userbase and identify new advertising and revenue opportunities."

Earlier in the week, the BBC tested a prototype system for showing related web links around live broadcasts as it explores options for a future of connected-TV services.