A new Viacom study on social media has revealed that viewers engage around seven different types of social TV activities per week. Viacom's national online survey looked at research from 1,500 Viacom Media Networks viewers aged 13-54. The research found that young viewers who watch TV with “others” score 85% among all respondents. Searching supplemental TV content was at 61%, while viewing TV show clips on social networks was at 58%.

According to data released by Nielsen, apps are still the main way of accessing content on mobile devices, as the time spent on apps (versus mobile web browsers) has increased to 81% from 73% over the past year. The data revealed that the top five apps are Facebook, YouTube, Google Play, Google Search and Gmail, while the most dominant smartphone platforms are Android and iOS, accounting for 88% of downloads. Nielsen's data also indicated that the average time spent on apps per day has increased by two minutes to a total of 39 minutes a day. 

Social media is dramatically changing the way viewers are watching and talking about their favorite programs. According to a poll by Horowitz Associates,19% of viewers begin watching a show after reading about it on a social network or blog. The poll also revealed that viewers head online to get additional information about shows and content, as 23% of those polled said they had visited a website or used an app that provided more content about a show. Meanwhile, 39% of the respondents had used the internet to search for more information about something they saw on television.

According to the results of a new Associated Press/CNBC poll, half of Americans think Facebook is a passing fad. The poll also revealed that ahead of the company's highly anticipated IPO, half of Americans say the social network's expected asking price is too high. Expected later this week, Facebook's Wall Street debut could value the company at $100 billion, making it worth more than Disney, Ford and Kraft Foods.  

According to a new study by RJ Metrics, Google+ is experiencing weak user engagement and minimal social activity. After selecting a sample of 40,000 random Google+ users, RJ Metrics (RJM) downloaded and analyzed every sample users' public timeline, which contains all publicly available activity. According to RJM's study, the average post on Google+ has less than one '+1', less than one reply, and less than one re-share. The study also revealed that roughly 30% of users who make a public post never make a second one. 

According to new research by the Arab Advisors Group, the number of free-to-air satellite channels in the Arab World has increased by 19.3% over the past year. According to the research findings, the number of channels reached 642. The findings revealed that Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the UAE host the highest number of free-to-air satellite channels.

Facebook ran a monthlong study that observed 23 brand pages and more than 1,200 of their posts, and found that "by far, the biggest predictor of engagement was that the post was on a topic relevant to the brand," said Sean Bruich, head of measurement platforms and standards at Facebook. "It impacts everything, from lightweight likes to more invested shares. It's actually one of the most important things a brand can do. People are seeing the content because they liked the brand, and it makes sense that content about the brand will get them engaged."

According to JWT, 59% of children born since 1995 said their real social life was online, while 48% found the internet more ‘fun’ than the outside world. According to a new study by the creative agency, losing access to their favourite sites or their mobile phones would traumatise this age group more than going without pocket money, new clothes and music or trips to the cinema.

According to the latest study by Interactive Advertising Bureau and PricewaterhouseCoopers, Internet ad spending grew 22% in 2011 to $31.7 billion. The growth rate tops last year’s 14.5%, indicating that digital advertising is continuing to grow. For the fourth quarter of 2011, online ad spending hit nearly $9 billion, up 20.4% from a year ago, and 14.7% from the third quarter.