GenZ Teens Think Romance Is Overused, Want Less Sex and More Friendships on Screen: UCLA Study
Washington, October 26:┬аA new study has found that adolescents or Gen Z are more interested in watching and consuming stories of platonic relationships and friendships than the ones featuring sex and romance. The study conducted by the Center for Scholars and Storytellers (CSS) at UCLA revealed Gen Z’s preferences for entertainment across the United States.
According to a report in the Guardian, nearly 1,500 people participated in the University of California Los Angeles’s (UCLA) “Teens and Screens” survey. The youngsters said that they want to see content focused on friendships rather than sex and romance. Nearly 40 percent of the respondents said they want to see non-romantic relationships or asexual characters on screen.┬аWatching TV with Your Child Might Help in Their Brain Development: Study.
The majority of the respondents surveyed said they felt that romance in media was overused. It must be noted that questions related to sex and romance on screen were asked only to youngsters between 13 and 24. The research team which conducted the survey has labelled the trend as “nomance”. “When there’s media with too much sex, me and my friends often feel uncomfortable,” a respondent named Ana said.┬аExcessive TV Viewing in Childhood Can Later Lead to Smoking, Gambling: Study.
The researchers also said that Gen Z’s entertainment preferences have stemmed from a craving for feel-good character relationships after many were in isolation during the COVID-19 pandemic. In a follow-up essay on the survey results, researchers Stephanie Rivas-Lara and Hiral Kotecha said that the Gen Z generation is feeling a lack of close friendships and a separation from their community.
One of the key highlights of the survey was that 56 percent of youngsters between the ages of 10 and 24 said they prefer original content over franchises and remakes. More importantly, adolescents who were surveyed also expressed seeing lives like their own being depicted on the screen.
(The above story first appeared on Today News 24 on Oct 26, 2023 05:01 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website todaynews24.top).
