Usage of television and an Internet – connected computer at the same time averaged 17.5 minutes per day among females 15 – 48 and 15.7 minutes per day among males in the same group.

The highest simultaneous television/Internet usage was among females 30-39, at 23.3 minutes per day, more than double that of males in the same group at 10.6 minutes. The data also revealed that simultaneous usage of men starts strong and decreases as they approach their 40s, while women show the opposite, which corresponds to child rearing years.

"Considering the amount of sports-related programming that connects the Web to television, it was surprising to see the highest simultaneous usage was among adult women," said Amanda Welsh, head of research for IMMI.

"Our interpretation of this is that women are more inclined to multi-task than men, particularly when in the home balancing their personal and professional lives. This is entirely consistent with studies of online television consumption previously conducted by IMMI."