Generation Z rejects sex scenes in television and movies, wishing to see more platonic relationships on screen instead, according to a new study.
Young people prefer depictions of friendship rather than romance, according to UCLA’s “Teens and Screens” study from the school’s Center for Scholars and Storytellers, Variety reported Wednesday. Approximately 51.5% of people ages 13 to 24 crave more content showing non-sexual bonds.
Gen Z gets this one right. Sex scenes in movies are awkward and always completely unnecessary. I suspect the vast majority of people find those scenes uncomfortable to sit through. https://t.co/dMWXBHusvI
— Matt Walsh (@MattWalshBlog) October 27, 2023
The report surveyed 1,500 people between ages 10 and 24 with 100 participants per each age bracket, according to the outlet. About 44.3% of respondents agreed that “romance in media is overused,” and 47.5% of respondents feel that sex is not necessary in television and movie plots. Approximately 39% of respondents reported that they would like to see more aromantic and asexual characters on screen.
“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,” a 17-year-old black male from Georgia said. “There’s a complete lack of platonic relationships in American cinema.”
“The guy would be a jerk to the woman, but she would end up falling in love with him,” a 23-year-old Asian female from New York complained. (RELATED: Nearly Half Of Gen Z Identifies As Non-Religious, New Study Finds)
Yalda T. Uhls, co-author of the study, said that the results show that teenagers “want less sex on TV,” but the survey “is really saying” that young people want to see different kinds of interactions on screen “that reflect the full spectrum of relationships.”
The report revealed that 56% of adolescents ages 10 to 24 prefer original content over franchises and remakes, according to the outlet. Respondents prefer binge releases over weekly releases, and they want to see lives like their own rather than lives unlike their own.