By Wailin Wong | More Americans are simultaneously surfing the Web while they watch
television, according to a new report from The Nielsen Company.

In the last quarter of 2009, Americans spent 3.5 hours a month using the
Internet and TV together, up from 2 hours and 36 minutes in the same
period of 2008. Nielsen said 59 percent of Americans now use the
Internet and TV simultaneously once a month, compared with 57.5 percent a
year ago.

“The initial fear was that Internet and mobile video and entertainment would slowly cannibalize traditional TV viewing, but the steady trend of increased TV viewership alongside expanded simultaneous usage argues something quite different,” Matt O’Grady, Nielsen Company media product leader, said in a blog post highlighting the report’s findings.

The report also said online video consumption has grown 16 percent from last year, with 44 percent of all online being watched at the office. Nielsen noted that consumers use online video like a DVR to watch missed episodes, rather than as a substitute for regular TV viewing.

The full Nielsen report is available here.