Most teens don’t want to watch romance or sex on TV — why?: find out

Today’s teenagers are not the biggest fans of watching love stories in their TV shows and movies.

Annual study A study by the Center for Scholars and Storytellers at the University of California, Los Angeles found that more than half of teenagers surveyed prefer stories about friendship over romance or sex in entertainment media.

“Nomance,” as it’s called, is much more in demand among teenagers than it was in 2023.

Reality Bites Survey: Teens and Screens. was conducted in August 2024 and included 1,644 participants aged 10 to 24. People aged 10 to 13 were not asked about sexually explicit content.

63.5% of teens said they “strongly agree” that they want to see “more content that focuses on platonic relationships/friendships” in the shows and movies they watch.

Last year, this figure was 51.5%.

In the 2024 survey, 10.5% said they “strongly disagree” about wanting to see more friendship stories — down from 15.17% last year. 26% said they “neither agree nor disagree” in this year’s survey, up from 33.3% in 2023.

“I believe that friendship should be shown more. And the fact that boys and girls are friends does not mean
they should be romantic,” said a 12-year-old white girl in this year’s survey.

The second statement in the study was, “I believe that sex and sexual content are unnecessary for the plot of most TV shows and movies.”

Of the 1,644 participants, 62.4% said they “strongly agree,” 16% said they “strongly disagree,” and 21.6% said they “neither agree nor disagree.”

At the same time, in 2023, less than half of teenagers (47.5%) were not interested in watching sex on their screens.

“The novel doesn’t have to be the main part of the plot,” said a 17-year-old white non-binary person. “Relationships should involve less jealousy, and the plot should not focus heavily on the emerging relationship. They’re not really that dramatic.”

“It would also be great to see more diverse groups, like queers in romantic relationships,” the teenager added. “It’s more realistic to the real world and I like to see more representation.”

The study also found that 46% of participants said they would like to see TV/movie characters who lack sexual and/or romantic drive.

Last year, this figure was 39%.

The Teens and Screens 2024 survey was authored by Research Director Atlas Burrus, Research Director Dr. Alisha J. Hines, Consultant Stephanie Rivas-Lara, and Dr. Yalda T. Uhls, CEO and Founder of the Center for Scholars and Storytellers.

Held annually from 2022.