Does anyone, or everyone, else suffer from second screen syndrome?

I have often ended up running Netflix or YouTube on part of one monitor while programming. I think what this really accomplishes is creating background noise to occupy my brain while I try to focus on a hard task.

Recently, I have been using podcasts as a way to better occupy my brain while focusing on the task at hand. I find that works much better as there are fewer visual distractions.

I've learned in my classes that multitasking is more myth than reality; your performance of each task suffers if you try to double-up. If you're just doing things for pleasure, though, I'd say it doesn't really matter. I know I've played games while watching videos, so I get the appeal.

It speaks to the monotonous or mechanical nature of the work you're doing, and also to the slow direction/pacing of the video.

Work: For instance, programming can be split into a creative side, where you explore potential solutions and architectures for your program, maybe jotting down notes along the way; and a mechanical side, where you're basically typing all the code on the keyboard. To the uninitiated, the programmer appears busiest when they're typing furiously on the keyboard, but in fact that's probably when they're using the least amount of brainpower. When they appear to be daydreaming, they might be working hard. There's a webcomic about this.

Videos: These days a lot of TV-format shows have really slow pacing. It's because they're sold as X episodes of Y length each, and the production company has to fill up the time. Too many shows these days take up more time than they should. I mentally separate shows into "background" shows, and "good" shows that require attention. Ironically I tend to "watch" more background shows since it's easier to fit those into life, thanks to multitasking.

To a lot of gamers and game developers, gaming is the future of entertainment since you're 100% engaged in the game; if you look away then Game Over. And although many games have a minimum requirement in length, e.g. 50 hours to justify a $60 price tag, many other titles, especially indie games, have no such length expectation. Those that eschew the time expectation also usually eschew unnecessary filler and are highly satisfying experiences. And those with filler, well, those are the ones you can play while watching Netflix.

I definitely do. I find I actually get bored if I don't have two things going. Been trying to reduce this by just reading or leaving my phone away when I'm watching netflix or playing a video game.

To add: Thinking back a bit, before always having two screens, I still always did two things at once, like doing a crossword puzzle while watching TV...so maybe it's not all screen time.

I think everyone should consume their entertainment media the way they enjoy it most - that's the point, after all. It's each individual's job to determine whether doing two things at once is better or worse than concentrating entirely on one. I personally prefer to focus on one thing at a time, but that's just me. If using your phone while you watch a movie maximizes the happiness you gain, then that's absolutely what you should do. It's not a problem unless, say, you're trying to work while watching a show or whatever and the quality of the work suffers for it.

I find that a great way to avoid this is to watch tv/movies in other languages. Not only is it a great way to learn about different cultures, it also sort of prevents me from looking away, since without subtitles I don't understand what they're saying.

Are we basically doing 2 things terribly instead of 1 think well?

I don't know if I can speak to why we want to do this. But yeah, your ability to attend to both tasks will be reduced. I've definitely tried doing this a couple times but often find it too distracting.

I never do this. I suspect it is because A, I still actually have an attention span, and B, most of what little television I watch is subtitled, be it anime or scandinavian dramas, so I actually have to watch it.

I sometimes have the radio playing when I read, which is my primary method of recreation, but that's largely just for white noise of sorts. My wife plays a lot of video games that are heavy on dialogue, and, e.g. Alastair wooing the Grey Warden can be terribly distracting when you're trying to concentrate...

When the tv/video streaming is on I find myself full of curiosity and questions pertaining to whatever I'm watching. I constantly look things up on my phone and I learn a lot. It's perfect for my raging ADD and I'm so grateful to live in an era where the internet can satisfy my inquiries. I think of my phone as a complementary screen.

I often have a series, sports or YouTube/Twitch on the second screen, but I realize that it’s very distracting.

I try to avoid it, and rather only have music on while working. I try to avoid having the mobile phone close as well, while watching something.

I work with code as plenty here and never had the feeling that I needed an extra screen on top of the one of my laptop.

This last job I accepted, they gave me two extra ultra high res screen and now I can't work from home with a single screen anymore.

My setup is usually:
Screen 1: bash/console
Screen 2: code
Screen 3: browser/app on auto-refresh

I don't keep things, like a movie, going as I hate to not pay attention to a series I'm following and would either end up being focused on the work or the series.

This is hilarious to come across right now because I'm currently browsing Tildes while in an online conference LOL

I do this but I basically have specific TV shows and Movies that I have deemed it acceptable to watch on the second screen and not pay complete attention to. Usually they are shows that I know are pretty bad but still want to watch or things that I know I can follow with minimal effort because the plot is so dead simple or predictable. Guilty pleasures like The Arrow or something like that. If I want to watch The Expanse though, that's a single screen experience. Often I will be like "I really want to watch this show but I know I can't devote full attention to it right now so it's going to wait." Seems to work for me.