Living room is 'a digital hub'

Some 91 percent of parents with a tablet computer say their children use it or have one of their own, an Ofcom report suggests.

The watchdog's "State of the Nation" report found 41 percent said their children use it every day and 17 percent have children who use it more than once a day.

• 71 percent use the tablet to play video games
• 44 percent watch short video clips
• 40 percent browse the internet
• 37 percent watch TV or films

Read: Tablet ownership more than doubles

The traditional living room has been transformed into a digital media hub where the household watches television while multi-tasking via tablets and smartphones, Ofcom said.

Households are increasingly reverting to just one television, and 91 percent of adults tune in to the main set in the living room at least once a week, according to Ofcom's annual "State of the Nation" report.

A quarter of viewers regularly partake in "media meshing" - using devices to communicate about the programme they are watching.

Of those surveyed, 49 percent said they engage in "media stacking" to carry out completely unrelated activities such as social networking or online shopping.

Read: Tablet ownership 'more than doubles'

The huge growth in take-up of smartphones and tablets is creating a nation of media multi-taskers, an Ofcom report published today suggests.

Tablet ownership is driving the use of second screens, and enticing people to the main television room, according to the annual study.

More than half of tablet owners - 56 percent - use their device for viewing audiovisual content, and half of these do so while in the living room.

A fifth of families with a tablet said they watch different content on different screens while in the same room all or most of the time.

Tablet ownership has more than doubled in the past year alone, with 24 percent of homes now owning at least one of the devices, up from 11 percent the year before, according to a report by Ofcom.

More than half of adults - 51 percent - own a smartphone, up from 27 percent two years ago.

Two-thirds of tablet users say they use the device every day, and 95 percent use it at least once a week.