Television is considered a passive form media—in other words, something people sit down and watch without doing much else (except, perhaps, eating potato chips). Twitter and other forms of social media are changing TV into a more active medium. That doesn’t mean folks are doing jumping jacks while watching “The Walking Dead.” Rather, television viewers are more likely to be participating in the show—firing off messages and tweets about the program while watching it, turning it into a more communal, conversational experience. According to the Nielsen Company, a third of all television viewers tweeted while watching TV during June—a substantial increase from five months before. Indeed, Americans more frequently are absorbed by information from two screens at a time, rather than the standard single television screen of years past. About 41 percent of tablet owners and 38 percent of smartphone owners say they use their devices while watching TV at least once a day. “There are big and interesting implications,” said Deirdre Bannon, vice president of social media at Nielsen. “I think television networks and advertisers are onto it.” (Time)

Paul Asay has covered religion for The Washington Post, Christianity Today, Beliefnet.com, and The (Colorado Springs) Gazette. He writes about culture for Plugged In and wrote the Batman book God on the Streets of Gotham (Tyndale). He lives in Colorado Springs with wife, Wendy, and two children. Follow him on Twitter.