The Ultimate Multi-Taskers

Linda Hardesty

Teenagers are multi-tasking like crazy, according to MTV's second annual Leisure Time Study.

Betsy Frank, EVP/research and development for MTV Networks Inc., said although true convergence - where multiple media forms come out of the same box - is not yet here, teenagers are behaving convergently.

The MTV Networks proprietary study used a combination of a 24-hour diary and a questionnaire to quantify leisure time data for 4,000 people ages 4 and up. Frank said, "We then try and figure out how people are assimilating all the new and established media, entertainment and leisure forms into their lives."

She said MTV wanted to quantify simultaneous usage so "we redesigned the diary to get a better sense of this. What we found is that teens really are the ultimate multi-taskers."

The study found that teenagers have all kinds of electronic equipment in their rooms from TVs, PCs, phones, stereos and video game consoles, and they're often using more than one at a time.

Frank said teens multi-task more than younger kids who tend to focus on one activity at a time until they master it.

For teens, the study found that 17% of the time when they're on the home computer, they're also watching television. Another 17% of the time they're on the computer, they say they're also listening to music. Thus, one-third of the time teens say when they're using the home computer, they're doing something else. About 30% of the time they're on the phone, they say they're watching television.

"We really weren't sure what we were going to find," said Frank. "I think everybody was kind of amazed that it was this high."

The study also found that the average teen views about 2-hours of television a day, while the average adult views close to 3-hours. Teens spend more time with music, with the home computer, and with video games than adults.