Ball State University has released findings from Middletown University Studies 2, which it terms "the most comrehensive observational media use study ever undertaken": involving 400 participants, 5,000 hours of media use in Muncie and Indianapolis, recording information every 15 seconds on the use of 15 varieties of media--print, broadcast, telecom and Internet.

The study's key findings:
(1) per waking day (figure 16 hours), 30% with media as sole activiy, 39% with media while doing something else and 21% work activity;
(2) in any given hour 30% had the TV on, with 70% in peak hours;
(3) TV still tops at 240.9 minutes (4 hours). cedon is the computer at 120 mins. (2 hours);
(4) 30% of all media time is with more than one simultaneous media exposure;
(5) ages 18-24 spend less--yes, LESS--time online than any age group save over 65;
(6) ages 40-65 show more concurrent media exposure than ages 18-39;
(7) women multitask more than do men;
(8) Web, e-mail and phone usage is "substantially higher" than any other day of the week.