Gen Z teens seek more friendships, less sex on screen: Study

livemint.com:

Variety quoted a new study out of UCLA. According to the new report – “Teens and Screens", which is out from UCLA's Center for Scholars and Storytellers, says 51.5 percent of adolescents would like to see more content depicting friendships and platonic relationships. Details say that 1,500 young people were surveyed for the full report, which includes 100 participants from each age bracket between 10-24.

However, 13-24-year-olds were asked about topics related to sex and romance, reported Variety. ALSO READ: Let’s envy and not make fun of Gen Z’s #LazyGirlJobs trend The report found out 44.3 percent of youth feel 'romance in media is overused', and 39 percent want to see more depictions of aromantic and asexual characters. In comparison, 47.5 percent opine sex is not necessary for the majority of TV shows and movie plots. It is to be known that recent shows – focused on young people – are known for their frequent sex scenes like HBO’s 'Euphoria' and 'The Idol'.

The young people who participated in the study, also expressed a similar desire for sex and romance to be de-centered. The report quoted a 17-year-old Black male from Georgia, who said, "I don’t like [that] every time a male and female character are together on screen, studios feel the need to make them fall (in) love. There’s a complete lack of platonic relationships in American cinema." A similar opinion was expressed by a 23-year-old Asian female from New York who spoke on another relationship stereotype.