Couch potatoes take note: You are what you watch.
A breakdown of prime-time TV ratings found that viewing splinters dramatically according to age and gender as well as race.
The Post’s in-depth survey of who watched what during the networks’ high-stakes February sweeps underscores the increasing fragmentation among TV audiences.
Cases in point:
*With the emergence of shows and networks like the WB that cater to the Clearasil set, teens tuned into the Grammys, “7th Heaven” and “Sabrina, The Teenage Witch” – and tuned out Monica Lewinsky.
ABC’s “20/20: A Special Report,” featuring Barbara Walters’ exclusive interview with the indiscreet intern – the second-highest-rated show among adults – didn’t even make the teen-age top 40.
*Men prefer the spooky and supernatural. Thrillers like Stephen King’s violent ABC mini-series “Storm of the Century” and Fox’s “The X-Files” made their top 10.
Women skip the scary. They clicked onto female-driven shows like NBC’s “Veronica’s Closet” and “Jesse.”
*Americans over age 65 favor dramas, like CBS’s “Diagnosis Murder,” and reality-driven shows like CBS’s “Kids Say the Darndest Things.”
Not one sitcom was among the senior top-10 programs, while four sitcoms placed in the top 10 overall.
*ABC’s “NFL Monday Night Football” was the only program to cross racial lines and appear on the top-10 lists for white, black and Latino households.
Fox’s “Between Brothers” ranks No. 1 in black households and No. 112 among whites.
NBC’s “Friends” ranked No. 4 in white households; No. 3 in Latino households (excluding Spanish-language programs); and 107th in black households.
Experts say the gaps reflect a trend among networks to go after specific segments of the population.
“You’ve got networks dedicated to different audiences,” said Doug Alligood, an executive at the BBDO advertising agency who has compiled ratings breakdowns for more than 12 years.
“CBS made no bones about it. They went with an older profile because a lot of the population was getting older.
“The shows that do tend to cross over are sports, special programs [like awards shows] and miniseries,” said Alligood.
“And dramas, like ‘E.R.’ or ‘Touched by an Angel,’ tend to cross over more than sitcoms.”