In an era of entertainment that's dominated by nostalgia, younger generations are redefining storytelling through YouTube, TikTok, and even artificial intelligence (AI), according to the 2026 Teens and Screens report.
Conducted by the Center for Scholars & Storytellers (CSS) at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), the report began five years ago as a way to analyse the media habits of more than 1,500 Americans aged 10-24.
Its latest findings highlight how much contemporary storytelling has diversified, with Gen Alpha and Gen Z finding just as much value in unconventional media formats like 30-second videos to feature-length films.
The majority of the survey's respondents (72.9%) chose YouTube as their favourite medium for storytelling, while nearly 4 in 5 said that short-form videos can tell a story too, with TikTok (64.2%) scoring highest among social media platforms.
TV shows (70.3%), movies (70.2%) and video games (68.5%) all followed closely behind, with respondents choosing the cinema as their favourite weekend activity for the third year in a row.
This mirrors recent findings across Europe, with 50% of cinemagoers in the UK under 35-years-old according to the Cinema Advertising Association. Meanwhile, CineEurope reports that 47% of young people now discover films through TikTok.
More 'relatable' characters
Despite younger audiences being a major target demographic for the entertainment industry, their actual experiences and desires are still frequently unheard or misunderstood.
A recurring theme is their desire to see more relatable stories, with 55% of those surveyed wanting to see more neurodivergent characters on screen — a number that increased among LGBTQIA+ youth.
Only 22.7% of respondents felt that current media portrayals of neurodivergence “ring true to real life” most of the time. One such portrayal that received huge backlash in 2021 was Sia's directorial debut Music, in which Maddie Ziegler, a neurotypical actress, played a nonverbal autistic woman.
The adolescents and young adults also said they wanted to see more “hopeful, uplifting stories with people beating the odds,” “friendships and social groups,” and “people with lives like mine.”
This continues the findings of previous reports that young people want less sex on screen and more platonic relationships, with 52% saying they believe that romantic relationships in media are more central to the lives of fictional characters than they are in real life.
“The call for greater neurodivergent and friendship representation is just some examples we found of the broader demand for more diverse and authentic portrayals,” said study co-author Stephanie Rivas-Lara.
Opinions on AI
From fake actors to social media slop, AI has rapidly taken over the media landscape and become a major source of contention among younger viewers.
Despite this, the survey's respondents seem more curious than worried about the technology, with 28.2% saying they were “fascinated" and 25.6% “excited". On the other hand, 22% said they felt "doomed" and 10.1% were "scared".
Opinions on AI were most positive among the youngest respondents, aged 10-13, with 44.2% describing programmes about AI as "fascinating".
The future of entertainment
While cinema attendance massively declined during the pandemic, there's been a steady increase in the years since as young people strive to escape their phone screens, find communities, and reconnect with the outside world.
Recent blockbuster hits like Backrooms and Obsession, which were directed by YouTube creators, also prove that younger audiences are craving more original stories that utilise internet formats and lore; reflecting the digital worlds they have grown up in.
“The gatekeepers have changed, and young people themselves are deciding what they want to watch and what they want to see more of in the content they choose,” said Yalda T. Uhls, founder and CEO of CSS and adjunct professor in UCLA’s psychology department.
“Industry leaders should ‘tune in’ to young people as well as the experts who have positive youth development and their well-being in mind,” Uhls added.
“This year’s report clearly illustrates that this is the key to creating quality content that wins over today’s youth.”