Multitask Britons text, view and chat

Social networks and increasingly sophisticated mobile phones have made the UK a nation of media multitaskers, new research shows. A fifth of all media is consumed at the same time as another form of communication, according to research compiled by Ofcom, the media regulator, with people spending almost half of their waking hours glued to a screen, on the phone to friends or listening to the radio. Although television is as popular as ever, almost one-fifth of the time spent watching TV is now accompanied by laptop or mobile activity. Younger people are leading the multitasking trend, Ofcom says. Those aged 15 to 24 squeeze nearly five hours' worth of media consumption into two hours of real time - mostly via a combination of mobiles, instant messaging and Facebook, the social networking site.