YouTube is top storytelling format for young people, report finds – Euronews.com

YouTube is top storytelling format for young people, report finds  Euronews.com

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' charactersDespite younger audiences being a major target demographic for the entertainment industry, their actual experiences and desires are still frequently unheard or misunderstood.A