The Center for Scholars & Storytellers at UCLA has released the results of their annual study, the Teens and Screens Report, with some interesting findings that run contrary to popular industry wisdom. Animation Magazine readers will be pleased to hear that our favorite artform has gained some ground: Given the choice, there was an increase of last year in the number of adolescents who said they prefer animated content (48.5%, up from 42% last year) closing in on the slim majority who prefer live-action content (51.5%).
This year’s study asked 1,500 adolescents (ages 10-24, reflecting the ages of adolescence defined by the National Academy of Sciences) about their perceptions of various types of popular media, including TV shows, movies, video games and social media. The demographic makeup of participants closely reflects the latest U.S. Census in regard to race and gender.
One of the biggest surprises is that today’s adolescents and young adults, including the coveted 18-24 demographic, say they are still invested in “traditional media” — they just watch and engage with it differently than other generations. The recent MIPCOM market was a showpiece for how the TV industry is trying to adapt to changing content trends among youngsters, focusing on digital pipelines like Roblox and YouTube. The Teens and Screens Report also found that adolescents are more “content agnostic” about watching film and TV content such as clips; 78.4% said they watch on social platforms “sometimes,” 19.9% said they watch exclusively on socials and 9.2% said they never watch this content on socials.
“This study flips the script on the myth that Gen Z and Gen Alpha don’t care about TV or movies and challenges some of the biggest assumptions about what they want to see,” said Yalda T. Uhls, founder and CEO of CSS, senior author of the study and adjunct professor in UCLA’s psychology department. “And teens aren’t just passively watching traditional media — they’re discussing it with their friends even more than social media content. From this report, we’re also seeing that relatable stories are the currency of connection for this generation and that these narratives are what truly matter to adolescents today.”
Q: Do teens watch traditional media more than older generations think they do?
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- Yes — 57%
- No — 14.9%
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Q: Do teens discuss TV shows and movies with their friends more than social media content?
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- Yes — 53%
- No — 18.6%
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Another major trend detected was the craving for more realistic stories, boomeranging from last year’s findings that fantasy stories were preferred; 35.3% more respondents this year said they want to see relatable narratives than in 2024. Similar to last year’s findings that teens want less romance on screen, 59.7% of this year’s respondents “want to see more content where the central relationships are friendships.”
The new Report explored this further, interrogating what these friendships would look like. A majority of adolescents want to see different gender characters who “prioritize their friendship instead of turning it into a romantic relationship,” while 49% are more interested in same-gender friendships (among 18-and-ups, the gap was 57.7% vs. 46.3%).
“Teens are telling us loud and clear – they’re ‘over’ forced and unrealistic romantic storylines,” said Alisha Hines, CSS vice president of research and programs. “Our findings show that what they really want is content, characters and friendships that feel real and reflect everyday experiences they can authentically relate to.”
Percent of adolescents who want to see friendship-centered stories:
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- Friendships as central relationships — 59.7%
- People uninterested in romance — 54.1%
- Different-gender friendships — 54.9%
- Same-gender friendships — 49%
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Unsurprisingly, the study further shows that 88% of adolescents report finding at least “a little community” through gaming. Nearly 70% said that gaming makes them feel more connected to their friends. More than half of those surveyed felt that gaming helped them work on regulating their emotions, while less than a third reported that it made them feel more aggressive or stressed.
“Ultimately, teens want to feel connected to their friends,” said Matt Puretz, CSS senior researcher and a co-author of the study. “And in addition to television and movies, this year’s findings show that gaming is another way for them to build on and develop these important relationships.”
Support for 2025 Teens and Screens Report research was provided by the Funders for Adolescent Science Translation (FAST), Warner Brothers Discovery, Roblox, Nielsen Foundation, Templeton World Charity Foundation and the Hilton Foundation.
The Teens and Screens Annual Report is available here. In conjunction with the release of the 2025 report, the Center for Scholars & Storytellers will hold its 5th Annual Teens & Screens Summit on October 23 in Los Angeles (invitation only).
