Dual Users: Real Lessons from Reality Television

This study attempts to understand the differences in activity among an emergent television/Internet audience. The Internet has provided a new entertainment opportunity for producers of television programming. Those television viewers who have also reached out to their favorite television show websites have resulted in a new audience. Examining the programming genre of reality television, two constructs were developed and a written survey administered to a convenience sample of college freshmen. The construct "dual users" was created to examine the television audience that also visits television programming websites. Single users (those that only watch the television show) were compared to the self-reported levels of activity and involvement of dual users. Early findings suggest that the dual users are more involved during viewing of the television show and engaged in less secondary activity than the single users. This study and the testing of these constructs are in an early phase and merit discussion among media scholars. Introduction The latest rage to sweep the airwaves is reality television. In 2000, more than 50 million Americans tuned into the final episode of Survivor 2. Survivor 2 came in just behind the Super Bowl as the most watched television program of the year. Survivor 2 also passed the non-reality television show Seinfeld as the most successful summer