‘‘TV no longer commands our full attention’’: Effects of second-screen viewing and task relevance on cognitive load and learning from news Anna Van Cauwenberge a,⇑ , Gabi Schaap b , Rob van Roy a a Institute for Media Studies, University of Leuven, Parkstraat 45, Box 3603, B-3000 Leuven, Belgium b Department of Communication, Radboud University Nijmegen, Thomas van Aquinostraat 2, 6500HE Nijmegen, The Netherlands article info Article history: Available online 18 June 2014 Keywords: Media multitasking Cognitive load Limited capacity News learning Second-screen viewing Computer mediated communication abstract Second-screen viewing—the use of smartphones, tablets, and laptops while watching television—has increased dramatically in the last few years. Using multiple resource theory and threaded cognition the- ory, this study investigated the effects of second-screen viewing on cognitive load, factual recall and com- prehension of news. Second, we examined the effects of relevant (i.e., looking up information related to the news story) and irrelevant (i.e., looking up information unrelated to the story) second-screen viewing on learning from news. Results from an experiment (N = 85) showed that second-screen viewing led to lower factual recall and comprehension of news content than single-screen viewing. These effects were mediated by cognitive load: second-screen viewing led to a higher cognitive load than single-screen viewing, with higher cognitive load, in turn, leading towards lower factual recall and comprehension of news content. Contrary to our expectations, we found no statistically significant differences between effects of relevant and irrelevant second-screen viewing. Ó 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. 1. Introduction Second-screen viewing—the use of smartphones, tablets, and laptops while watching television—has increased dramatically in the last few years. The latest Nielsen survey of connected device owners reported that in 2013 nearly half of U.S. smartphone owners (46%) and tablet owners (43%) said they use their devices daily as second screens while watching TV (Nielsen Company, 2013). Accordingly, the much-cited New Multi-screen World report from Google, which took a closer look at cross platform consumer behav- ior, warned the TV industry that ‘‘TV no longer commands our full attention as it has become one of the most common devices that is used simultaneously with other screens’’ (Google, 2012). The question that has kept television producers and advertisers busy is: what do multi-screen viewers use their second screen for? Do they follow up on something relating to the television program they are watching, or are they pursuing other activities? The Nielsen report shows it is both. Among tablet and smartphone owners, looking up general information (76% and 63%, respectively), web surfing (68% and 55%), and visiting social network sites (53% and 52%) are the most popular second-screen activities. However, almost one in two tablet owners also use their device to look up information about what they are watching, and one in five read conversations about the program on social network sites (Nielsen, 2013). The latest State of the News Media report from the Pew Research Center (Sasseen, Olmstead, & Mitchell, 2013) noted that second-screen viewing has become especially popular around news events such as the 2012 U.S. presidential debates, election night, and the State of the Union address. The report found that one in four who watched election night used both internet and television simultaneously to follow up on the results. In addition, a study from Verizon (2012) found that of the 65% adults saying they would watch the 2012 U.S. presidential debate on TV with a second device in hand, 46% planned to use this device for monitor- ing broadcast media reactions, 41% for fact checking candidate’s claims, 39% for following the live reactions of political reporter(s), and 32% for monitoring social media reactions. These emerging news viewing trends offer tremendous opportu- nities for news producers who want to strengthen bonds with their audiences by providing supplementary digital content, or by offer- ing online tools allowing viewers to share and engage with news content more actively. Still, despite the increasing use of second- screens to follow the same news event, indications are that viewers are far more likely to split their attention between distinct activities on each device (Verizon, 2012). As news is not only a commodity, but also has a pivotal role as a source of public affairs information and a tool for fostering citizenship, this raises questions about the http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2014.05.021 0747-5632/Ó 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. ⇑ Corresponding author. Tel.: +32 16 323201. E-mail addresses: anna.vancauwenberge@soc.kuleuven.be (A. Van Cauwenberge), g.schaap@maw.ru.nl (G. Schaap), Rob.vanRoy@hotmail.com (R. van Roy). Computers in Human Behavior 38 (2014) 100–109 Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Computers in Human Behavior journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/comphumbeh