Personal computers offer privacy for using social media.

People will continue to use their laptops and PCs for discussing the merits of various parcel delivery and courier services on social media pages, as one expert predicts a limited future for internet TVs.

According to Screen Digest, the communal nature of television watching will make them less appealing than personal desktops and laptops for checking emails and logging into social networking sites like Facebook.

It was reported last month by DisplaySearch that there will be rapid growth in the internet TV market, with the firm forecasting that there will be over 122 million in circulation by 2014.

Dan Cryan, head of broadband at Screen Digest, broadly agreed with the prediction, saying that "connectivity is increasingly getting built into TV sets," and is "rapidly becoming commonplace".

However, he went on to argue that there will always be a place for laptops as they offer more privacy.

"You can sit there without interrupting the viewing experience of anyone else you're watching TV with, and indeed you're not necessarily broadcasting the messages you're sending to your friends, which of course you are going to do if it comes up through the living room TV set," Mr Cryan explained.

Posted by Rob Elliott

Article Added: 06/01/2011 16:52:06