Do you tweet while you watch TV? If so, you’re part of a small but growing group of internet users. Apparently, 17 percent of adult social media users tweet while they’re watching their evening TV lineup – but 33 percent say they tweet after the show, and 18 percent tweet before.

While using twitter during a TV show still hasn’t caught on in the mainstream yet, marketers are willing to take a chance that the two are headed for a convergence, in a big way.

A new study from eMarketer shows the increasing impact Twitter has on your nightly shows.

Not even mentioning the hashtags that have entered the news tickers and the reality voting shows or the fact that actors are some of the most popular Twitter users out there, Twitter and TV just seem to mix.

eMarketer looks at Survivor as an example of how influential Twitter can be on TV. Host Jeff Probst began live-tweeting during the Spring 2011 season, and encouraged thousands of fans to join in. From just about 4,800 tweets during the 14th episode of the show in the Fall of 2010, Survivor saw more than ten times this volume during the 14th episode of the Spring 2011 season: over 54,000 tweets total.

It’s clear that Twitter is a prime marketing channel for TV execs to harness. It allows them the ability to tap directly into their audience, promote new shows, seasons and episodes, as well as encourage the audience to become brand advocates on social media in general. While no one is quite sure whether we’ll actually see “Twitter TVs” take over, there will definitely be more emphasis put on tweeting about TV in the months to come.