Social media’s influence on the television programs Australians choose to tune into has markedly increased over the past year, according to Yahoo!7’s Social TV Survey.

The number of participants who watched a TV show because of a recommendation a friend made on social media has rocketed from 16% in 2011 to 42%.

In 2011, only 12% of surveyed people were made aware of a show through Facebook or Twitter but that figure increased to 38% last year Yahoo!7’s second annual survey found.

“Last year’s survey found that Australians have a genuine appetite for the idea of Social TV and connecting with likeminded fans around the shows they love,” Kristin Carlos, head of TV at Yahoo!7, said.

“This year, the survey results highlighted social media’s increasing influence on how Australians discover new TV shows.”

Reality TV generates the most social media noise while ‘appointment-based’ TV is still the favourite with 72% choosing to watch a program live as it is aired.

The number of people watching TV via tablets has doubled to 10% since 2011.

Almost half (43%) of the 7,741 survey participants said they use social media while watching television.