The youth of Generation Z, those born in the US between 1995 and 2010, are looking for more animated series and less sex on screen, “fed up with unrealistic or forced romantic stories,” according to a study published this Wednesday by the Center for Scholars and Storytellers at the University of California in Los Angeles (UCLA).
“59.7% of this year’s respondents want to see more content where the central relationships are friendships,” said the study, titled ‘Let’s face it! ‘Teens still watch TV and movies, but they want to see more mixed friendships.’
Specifically, 54.9% of youth “want characters of a different gender to prioritize their friendship instead of turning it into a romantic relationship, compared to 49% who want to see more same-sex friendships,” the study found.
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This difference is even greater among adolescents aged 18 or younger (57.7% vs. 46.3%).
“Teenagers are telling us loud and clear: Their romantic stories are too forced and unrealistic,” said Yalda T. Uhls, founder and CEO of CSS, lead author of the study and an associate professor in the UCLA department of psychology.
“Our results show that what they are really looking for is content, characters and friendships that feel real and reflect everyday experiences that they can authentically identify with,” added Uhls.
The study also shows that 57% of youth surveyed in the US watch traditional media “more than previous generations believe, while more than half of the participants said they talk more about what they watch than about the content of social networks.”
78.4% of respondents stated that they watch television and movies on YouTube or social platforms with some frequency.
The sample for this study included 1,500 adolescents between the ages of 10 and 24, asked about “their perceptions, opinions and beliefs about various types of popular media, including television shows, movies, video games and digital media,” the study concluded.
With information from EFE.
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