Teens and Screens 2024 Report
MORE FANTASY, MORE FRIENDSHIP EDITION
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Also featured in Variety, Deadline / Yahoo! News, Kidscreen, The Ringer, and more!
About the Study
Teens and Screens is a nationally-sourced annual research report conducted by the Center for Scholars & Storytellers at UCLA to understand more about what young people care about and want to see in entertainment media. Check out prior years’ reports here. And view our press release for this project on UCLA’s newsroom here.
Fantasy Over Reality. Fantasy content saw a significant boost in popularity, with 36.2% of adolescents preferring this genre — a 56% increase from last year
Romance is Still Out, Nomance is Still In. 63.5% of adolescents expressed a preference for stories focused on friendships and platonic relationships, solidifying a continued trend towards “nomance” content
Movies Aren’t Dead. Despite industry speculation, movies remain teens’ top choice for entertainment. When asked what they would do if time and money were no constraint, going to see a movie came out on top, far ahead of other activities like sports.
Social Media On Screen = Cringe. Teens find social media to be authentic in real life, but not how it’s portrayed on screen: almost half of adolescents said they cringe seeing how social media is depicted on TV and film, and adolescents were 7.5 times more likely to agree than disagree that creatives could benefit from consulting with them to accurately portray how social media is used.
A Generation of Gamers. For the first time, the study included questions about gaming, providing valuable insights into this key part of adolescent media consumption. Only 12% of adolescents surveyed said they don't play video games.
These are just a few of our interesting findings. Check out the full report to view more statistics, anecdotes from participants, and data visualizations.
Teens and Young Adults Respond
“I’m Not At All Surprised” — Teen Reactions
Our Voices Matter: Reflection from the Gen Z Author
A Gamer’s Take on Teens and Screens 2024
Young people have opinions that matter, and they desperately want to use them. Here at the Center for Scholars & Storytellers (CSS), we’re empowering them to do just that.
In August of 2024, we asked 1,644 adolescents (ages 10-24) across the U.S. about their perceptions of various types of popular media, including TV shows, movies, video games, and social media. Hear what young people had to say in their own words through the above blogs, quotations throughout the research report, and this video of our very own YMR Teens reacting to the findings.
We’d like to extend a special thank you to our sponsors — Roblox, FAST (Funders for Adolescent Science Translation), and Disney — for their generous support to make this project possible.
How to Cite This Report:
Burrus, A., Rivas-Lara, S., Hines, A., & Uhls, Y.T. (2024). CSS Teens & Screens 2024. Center for Scholars & Storytellers. https://www.scholarsandstorytellers.com/teens-screens-24
Thank You to Our Sponsors
About the Authors
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Atlas Burrus
Research Manager
Atlas Burrus is the lead author of the 2024 Teens and Screens Report and 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 they 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.
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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.
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Stephanie Rivas-Lara
Consultant
Stephanie Rivas-Lara, ACSW (she/her) is a Child Advocate with UCLA's Stuart House/Rape Treatment Center where she collaborates with a multidisciplinary team to support sexually abused children and their families. Prior to this role, she designed and facilitated CSS's Youth Media Representation program while also contributing to their research efforts. Passionate about amplifying youth voices to create meaningful change, she earned her Master of Social Welfare from UCLA.
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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.