The future of TV and film is more perilous than ever thanks to this army of little introverted scolds.
A recent study from UCLA conducted on Gen Z kids aged 13 to 18 found some distressing results about their viewing habits. It seems that these “overly mature” children, born between 2004 and 2009, are not enjoying fun and flighty content as much as they used to. So if you’re still clinging onto those precious moments of joy, enjoy them while you can!
Trends may continue, and soon our favorite escapist hobbies will be harder to come by than a unicycle on the highway or a New York street corner without marijuana smell.
The young generation today seems to want to forget about “Avatar” and “Elvis”, and focus on TikTok dances, Little Miss memes, and social-justice screeds instead. I find it concerning that the internet and MSNBC already provide us with so much of this content, but apparently, it’s not enough for Z demandz more!
The study found that teen audiences “resoundingly rejected aspirational stories”. This includes classic musical comedies like “Anything Goes” and costume dramas such as “Downton Abbey.” You know, things that are actually enjoyable.
These kids would rather prefer depressing, realistic stories with real-world themes. I can see why. Teens are glued to “Euphoria” on HBO (unless, God forbid, Sydney Sweeney throws a hoedown in a barn). Zendaya stars in the series, which focuses on high school drug use, sex abuse, and even “toxic positivity,” which makes me want to flee town and hide in the Galapagos.
Teens are also gravitating towards the Netflix show “Sex Education” which covers topics of teenage sexuality and identity issues.
“House of the Dragon,” be careful; your focus on fictional, incestuous warring royals has made Gen Z tar and feather you.
If they’re even bothering to watch TV or films, that is. A 2021 Deloitte survey found that just 10% of Gen Zers ranked those activities as their #1 source of at-home entertainment, which differs from every other older generation. These youngsters would rather do web browsing, social media commenting, and playing video games.
What’s even more startling is that this appears to be true in 2022. We’ve all become too familiar with doomsday-scrolling, volatile online debates, and forgetting how to converse with real people face-to-face. Sensible adults are presently trying to repair the harm caused by such an attitude. Gen Z, on the other hand, seems determined to drive the knife in even deeper — staring at their phones all day, obsessing over news stories and viewing enjoyment as undesirable and bad.
We can only hope that they’ll eventually develop some sort of taste as they age. Otherwise, we’re stuck with people who enjoy filming themselves doing the threading dance when they’re 45 years old.
Given the attention-seeking tendencies of today’s Hollywood, large, negative changes are increasingly probable. Soon, every TV program and film will be mind-numbingly woke and unentertaining, with a target audience that won’t even watch them.
Meanwhile, we’ll tell our grandchildren stories of “comedies” and “science fiction,” while they cancel us on Snapchat.
