Half of Gen Z don’t want sex in TV & movies
NetflixA new poll has revealed that the majority of Gen Z audience members don’t want any sex scenes in their TV shows and movies.
Sex scenes in movies and TV shows have been around since our media could only be viewed in black and white.
While some scenes could be seen as graphic and lewd, most sex scenes in media are used to move the plot along or add tension to a character’s backstory.
However, it seems like not everyone is a fan of these kinds of scenes in their entertainment, as a new poll saw Gen Z viewers are not huge fans of intimate encounters on screen.
Gen Z wants Hollywood to stop focusing on sex scenes
According to the new UCLA Teens and Screens study, which was conducted by the Center for Scholars & Storytellers, people aged 10 to 24 are tired of seeing graphic relationships on their screens.
48% of Gen Z audience members feel that “sex and sexual content is not needed for the plot of most TV shows and movies,” while 51.5% want to see more media focused on friendships and platonic relationships.
Dr. Yalda T. Uhls, founder and director of CSS and co-author of the study, explained this trend by pointing to the “scientific fact that modern young people are having less sex than their parents did at their age and many prefer to stay single.”
“While it’s true that adolescents want less sex on TV and in movies, what the survey is really saying is that they want more and different kinds of relationships reflected in the media they watch,” Uhls said.
“We know that young people are suffering an epidemic of loneliness and they’re seeking modeling in the art they consume. While some storytellers use sex and romance as a shortcut to character connection, it’s important for Hollywood to recognize that adolescents want stories that reflect the full spectrum of relationships.”
CSS youth engagement manager Stephanie Rivas-Lara, another co-author of the study, attributed Gen Z’s desire for more well-rounded relationships to their experience during the global lockdown.
“There has been a wide-ranging discourse among young people about the meaning of community in the aftermath of COVID-19 and the isolation that came with it,” Rivas-Lara stated. “Adolescents are looking to media as a ‘third place’ where they can connect and have a sense of belonging – and with frightening headlines about climate change, pandemics, and global destabilization, it makes sense they are gravitating towards what’s most familiar in those spaces.”
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