The new ecology of entertainment devices: first, second and multiple screens in the home setting

The development of digital television, the ubiquity of mobile phones and most recently the spread of digital tablets have together led to users engaging with combinations of devices that were only vaguely perceived a few years ago. Sometimes we will be doing quite different things on each device: we browse, text, Tweet and Skype while consuming TV or use the TV for background as we play a game on a laptop. Sometimes our activities are more tightly connected: we tweet about a TV programme, or look up a TV news programme to follow up a friend’s text. Most recently, a new genre of system has been developed to provide a user experience even more closely “tethered” to the broadcast TV programme, with companion applications supporting shows via play-along quizzes, games and educational activities, often in synchronous mode. These new developments in juggling with multiple devices prompt on the one hand fascinating questions for observers of user behaviour and on the other challenges for designers of these experiences. In this workshop we aim to bring together researchers interested in cognitive, social and cultural aspects of multi-device user experience and designers and developers of second screen experiences, in a mutually informative conversation. This workshop aims to explore the new ecology of entertainment devices: first, second and multiple screens in the home setting.