Young Americans value storytelling across different formats, according to UCLA's 2026 Teens and Screens report. The research examines the media habits of more than 1,500 people ages 10 to 24. YouTube led their storytelling preferences, with 72.9% selecting it.
Nearly four in five respondents believed that short videos could tell a story, and TikTok ranked highest among social media platforms at 64.2%. Online entertainment did not replace their interest in movie theaters. Going to the movies remained their favorite weekend activity for the third consecutive year.
Respondents also wanted characters they could relate to. Some 55% wanted more neurodivergent characters—people whose brains work differently from what is considered typical. However, only 22.7% felt that existing portrayals reflected real life most of the time. They also wanted hopeful stories, friendships, and characters whose lives resembled their own.
Romance seemed too central to fictional characters' lives for 52% of respondents, compared with its place in real life. Attitudes toward artificial intelligence were mixed, although curiosity and excitement were more common than worry. The youngest participants, ages 10 to 13, expressed the most positive views of the technology.
