TEEN Snapshot — April 2025

Media Teens & Young Adults Look To During Times of Stress

This survey is part of CSS's regular Teen Snapshot series, which are quick pulses on young people's media tastes, interests, and opinions about current events. Learn more here.

Key Takeaways

  • Gen Z still turns to movies and TV shows for comfort, with almost half (47.2%) saying they’re most excited about upcoming releases in these categories.

  • Young people — especially males and non-binary folks — go to gaming for community and stress relief.

  • Overall, when the world feels overwhelming, Gen Z gravitates to social media. Over 40% of teens turn to social media for a sense of connection during stressful times.

For most of us, the first 3 months of 2025 have felt more like 3 years. This has been a stressful time for many, especially young people, by virtue of near constant exposure to political chaos, climate disasters, and global conflicts. Many young people are stepping into adulthood during a time of rising living costs, job uncertainty, and economic instability, making it tough to plan for the future.

But stories can help us make meaning during times of uncertainty. And as our newest research shows, young people are continuing to look to both traditional and emerging media for entertainment, relief, and connection during turbulent times.

Comfort Shows & Movie Releases

In the midst of a stressful year, Gen Z reports being most excited about traditional media releases — specifically TV shows and films. Almost half (47.2%) of respondents indicated that they are most looking forward to new TV or film releases, which aligns with our recently released findings demonstrating that movies still matter to young people and continue to be a source of excitement and social connection.  

When asked what content they were most looking forward to, Gen Z respondents listed movies as number one (25.9%), closely followed by video games (23.3%), and TV shows (21.3%).  

Video games were seen to be more highly anticipated than in previous research, seemingly driven primarily by the upcoming release Grand Theft Auto VI. This sandbox style game is set to release in fall 2025.

Video Games for Stress Relief

The huge box office success of A Minecraft Movie—especially among viewers under 25—speaks volumes about how central gaming has become in young people’s lives. Our research shows that for many of them, video games aren’t just a way to pass the time—they’re a go-to in moments of stress and a powerful source of connection and community.

We also asked respondents to share what media they turn to for comfort in stressful times and found statistically significant differences across gender identities. Male Gen Z respondents reported going to video games for comfort (34.3%) three times more than Female Gen Z respondents (10.4%).

In a recent study from Pew Research, boys were more likely to report than girls that video games had a positive influence on their friendships, problem-solving skills, mental health, and ability to work with others.

When asked what media they are currently obsessed with, video games were most popular among males (37.4%) and non-binary (33.3%) respondents. We’ve seen an uptick in positive conversation around video games and their effects in recent times as well. In our special report on adolescents and gaming, we found that 70% of adolescents who play video games reported finding community through gaming.

Overall, Social Media Remains Gen Z’s Go-To

In general, Gen Z reports turning to social media over other media for comfort (42.3%) during hard times.

Out of all the social media platforms, TikTok has the clear lead for Gen Z. For several years, we’ve found that young people prefer Social Media, and TikTok specifically, for its authenticity, and genuine conversation about what they feel matters.

Conclusion

As we continue to witness the complex challenges facing young people today, it’s clear that media consumption — whether through traditional films, TV shows, video games, or social media — remains a source of comfort, relief, and connection. Understanding how and why adolescents turn to these various media forms will help us better support them as they navigate stress, uncertainty, and a rapidly changing world. The findings from this research further emphasize the need for balanced conversations around media engagement, ensuring that the content young people consume serves both their emotional needs and contributes to their overall well-being.

Authors

  • Atlas Burrus

    Research Manager

    Atlas Burrus is the full-time Research Manager at the Center for Scholars & Storytellers (CSS) at UCLA. In their role at CSS, they oversee data collection, coding and analysis, and lead regular lab meetings for research fellows and collaborators. Atlas is a passionate advocate for queer representation, friendship, and community, and they received their Bachelor of Arts in Psychology with a minor in Education Studies at UCLA.

  • Alisha J. Hines, PhD

    Research Director

    As director of research, Dr. Alisha J. Hines leads the research team and oversees all studies conducted at the Center for Scholars & Storytellers at UCLA. She earned her PhD in History & African American Studies from Duke University and is a former faculty member of Wake Forest University's History Department.

  • Yalda T. Uhls, MBA, PhD

    Founder and CEO

    Founder and CEO of the Center for Scholars & Storytellers, Dr. Yalda T. Uhls is an internationally recognized, award-winning research scientist, educator, and author, who specializes in studying how media affects young people. She received her MBA and PhD in developmental psychology from UCLA, is a former movie executive at companies like MGM and Sony, and is a proud Gen Z parent.

Acknowledgements

A tremendous thank you to Lael Czerniak from the CSS team, whose work on data analysis was key to making this project happen.

To our amazing marketing director, April Cisneros, our marketing & development manager, Haidy Mendez and designer, Lily Auyeung, for helping keep this project on track and grounded, along with everyone at CSS who contributed to its success.

And, most importantly, a heartfelt thank you to all the young people who took the time to share their thoughts with us. Your perspectives and insights are invaluable, and we are deeply grateful.

Methodology

  • The CSS research team created a survey to gather data from a wide-ranging group of Gen Z participants nationwide. Featuring both quantitative and qualitative questions, the survey sought to explore research topics concerning the media preferences of adolescents, such as movies, TV shows, video games, books, and more.

  • The sample population for this study includes Gen Z members between the ages of 13-28 as is defined as the age range for Gen Z as according to Pew Research Center. A total of 1876 participants completed the survey, representing diverse gender, sexuality, and racial/ethnic identities. Survey respondent demographics approximately reflected the U.S. Census in terms of race, region, and gender.

  • This study received approval from the UCLA Institutional Review Board in July 2024. The CSS team enlisted the services of a third-party survey recruitment platform, Alchemer, to administer the survey nationwide. Participants were compensated by Alchemer for completing the survey and were provided with detailed instructions on how to access and complete it online. Individuals under the age of 18 were required to obtain parental or caregiver consent prior to participating in the survey. The survey took approximately fifteen minutes to complete, and responses were collected between February 5 and February 28, 2025.

  • After all data collection was completed, data was cleaned to remove any incomplete or inaccurate responses. Participants self-indicated the type of content they were reporting, with options to choose being TV Show, Movie, Book, Social Media, Video Game, or Other. This data was then analyzed using the statistical methods software SPSS. Frequencies and crosstabs were calculated to summarize the dataset. Qualitative data was also analyzed, comparing specific titles reported by participants.

  • It is essential to recognize certain limitations of this study. As with any self-report survey, there is a potential for response bias or social desirability bias. Additionally, the dataset was neither weighted nor balanced, which may have resulted in the overrepresentation or underrepresentation of certain demographic groups.