UCLA’s Center for Scholars & Storytellers released its annual Teens & Screens report Wednesday, yielding eye-opening insights into the tastes and preferences of young media consumers. This year’s report is titled “Get Real: Relatability on Demand,” as the findings show that teens and youths are craving relatability and authentic representation across a myriad of metrics as they relate to media.
The study surveyed 1,500 Americans between the ages of 10 and 24 about their media consumption habits and preferences. The sample was proportionally reflective of the United States’ Gen Z population in terms of racial, ethnic, gender, sexual, ability, economic and geographic diversity. Responses were collected between Aug. 13 and Aug. 25.
While the responses were as diverse as the teens polled, a few distinct trends emerged from the data. Notably, it seems that America’s youth is more drawn to traditional media than one might expect, but that social experiences can still emerge from movie and TV consumption. According to the study, 53% of young Americans discuss movies and TV shows with friends more than they discuss content they watch on social media.
Gen Z shows a distinct preference for animation. The percentage of adolescents who prefer animated content over live action rose from 42% last year to 48.5% this year. And it wasn’t just the younger teens. Nearly 48% of respondents from 19-24 also preferred animation.
Moreover, the preferred kind of content that respondents choose to watch with their friends is movies ahead of video games and concerts, and teens said “Go see a new movie in theaters” would be the top-ranked weekend activity for the second year in a row (that is, if cost were not a factor).
Evidently, young people still want to go to the movies, share in the common experience with their friends and talk about what they watched. Accordingly, 57% of the respondents say that they watch traditional media (that being movies and TV shows) more than older generations assume.
But they watch differently: Nearly 80% respondents said they sometimes, most of the time or always watch TV shows and movies on YouTube or TikTok rather than on TV or in theaters.
The emphasis on friendship and common experiences extends into the respondents’ narrative preferences. 32% said that they most wanted to see relatable stories on screen, more so than fantasy or aspirational stories. They most wanted to see stories about “people with lives like mine.”
The 14-24 demographic also showed significant preferences for stories about friendships. Specifically, 59.7% said that they “want to see more content where the central relationships are friendships,” 54.1% said that they wanted to see “portrayals of characters who aren’t interested in romantic relationships at that point in time,” 54.9% wanted to see more “different gender friendships” on screen and 49% said they wanted to see more “same gender friendships.” Within those on-screen friendships, respondents also showed a desire to see “healthy conflict resolution.”
Furthering these wholesome desires, romance ranked third-to-last on a list of topics youths wanted to see explored on screen and 60.9% said that they wanted to see romantic relationships depicted as “more about the friendship between the couple than sex.” 48.4% said that there is “too much sex and sexual content in TV and movies.” Toxic relationships and love triangles also ranked among the most tiresome or uninteresting tropes for young viewers.
For decades, Hollywood has turned to the teen and young adult markets as the arbiters of cool and trendy tastes, and for just as long, it has tried to appease that crowd with movies and shows centered around sex and scandal. Consider “Where The Boys Are” in the 1960s, “Porky’s” in the 1980s, “American Pie” in 1999 and “Superbad” in 2007; all are quintessential movies for their respective generation of teens, and each are increasingly raunchy.
Now, the tides are changing. The top answers to “What is your favorite show or movie?” include “Stranger Things,” “Wednesday,” “Spongebob Squarepants,” and “Spider-Man.”
Contrary to stereotypes, this study suggests that young people want to go to the movies, they are still watching films and TV shows, and they are eager to discuss the things they watch with their friends. As for content catered to them specifically, though, they aren’t as interested in love stories or things that feel beyond their reach. They want relatability, authenticity and depictions of resonant relationships rooted in durable values.
In conjunction with the report, the Center for Scholars & Storytellers holds its Teens & Screens Summit Thursday at UCLA. Producer-director Greg Berlanti will be honored with the inaugural Social Impact Award named for him.