Generation Z chooses friendship and authenticity, rejecting sexual content on screen
Kyiv • UNN
A University of California study found that Generation Z prefers true stories about friendship and platonic relationships over sexual content in films. Almost half of teenagers consider modern shows overly sexual, which coincides with a decrease in sexual activity among them.
A new study by the University of California showed that Generation Z, i.e., young people, are tired of sexual content in films and TV series and are increasingly choosing truthful, authentic stories about friendship and platonic relationships. This is stated in the EuroNews material, writes UNN.
Details
The university's annual "Teens and Screens" report surveyed 1,500 young people aged 10 to 24 in the US. The results show that 59.7% of respondents want to see more stories about friendships on screen, and 54.1% want characters who are not currently interested in romance. Almost half of teenagers (48.4%) believe that modern films and TV shows contain too much sexual content, and they consider love triangles and toxic relationships to be exhausting and unnecessary.
In parallel, Generation Z shows a growing popularity of animation: 48.5% of respondents choose it, compared to 42% in 2024. Researchers have already called this trend "nomance" - the tendency to prefer platonic relationships in plots instead of sexual intrigues.
This change is consistent with data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), which show a decrease in sexual activity among adolescents. For example, only 30% of adolescents in 2021 engaged in sexual relations, while in 2019 it was 38%, and earlier - more than half.
CDC representative Kathleen Ethier explained that this may indicate a conscious choice of young people to postpone sex and reduce the number of partners, but also warned about possible social isolation. Despite changes in preferences, Generation Z actively visits cinemas, watches films and TV series, and readily discusses what they have watched with friends.
For reference
Generation Z are people born approximately from 1997 to 2012, after the millennial generation (Y). They grew up in a world of digital technologies, the Internet, and smartphones, so they are also called digital natives.