Younger adult viewers are two-and-a-half times more likely than older viewers to be technologically proactive in watching TV shows that they missed, according to a new study by The Nielsen Company . Half of the older viewers said they will do nothing or wait for reruns of the shows they missed.

Fifty-six percent of 18- to 34-year-olds use new technologies, such as DVRs, the Internet, VOD and MP3 players to follow their favorite TV programming, compared with 21 percent of viewers over the age of 55.

“Younger viewers have been faster than older generations to adopt new television options, but since technology adoption is increasing within all age groups, this study gives us a glimpse into a future when all viewers will take more initiative to catch up on shows they have missed,” said Steve McGowan, Nielsen’s SVP of client research initiatives. “This will have tremendous implications on how networks schedule and distribute their programming.”

The study was conducted in October with more than 1,500 adult participants.