Gen Z spends 26% less time on TV, 54% more on UGC: Report

Gen Z viewers (aged 14-24) are spending 26% less time, or 44 minutes per day, watching television and movies compared to the average consumer, according to YouTube’s NextGen Report 2025. Instead, they spend 54% more time, around 50 minutes extra per day, on social platforms watching user-generated content.

The report, based on surveys conducted with SmithGeiger in the US, shows that 66% of Gen Z respondents believe people their age have a major influence on online conversations, compared to less than half of adults aged 25-49.

Online creators are shaping not only how this generation consumes entertainment but also how they form identity and culture. Around 60% of respondents said they had adopted habits, traditions, or rituals from creators, while 62% said their language and slang were influenced by videos and memes. Nearly 59% reported that their personal style was shaped by content they saw online, while 58% of Gen Z users agreed that their sense of humor has been shaped by the internet.

The study also highlights how entertainment formats are shifting. For many teens, video platforms are more culturally relevant than traditional media, with survey respondents saying they were more excited to see content from online creators than new TV shows or films.

The report points to the rise of what it calls ‘Creative Maximalism,’ a style of content marked by rapid editing, visual layering, heavy use of references, and fan-driven storytelling. Examples include the viral machinima series Skibidi Toilet, which has generated over 4 million related uploads, and the ‘Italian brain rot’ trend, which saw more than 450,000 uploads in 2025.

The report noted that, “More importantly, Creative Maximalism may be the force that compels the adoption of generative AI for video. This aesthetic is inherently complex, and for a young generation that prioritises participation in culture, generative AI should be the tool that eases creation of visually complex, iterative, and referential content like 'Italian brain rot'."

YouTube’s findings suggest that Gen Z’s digital fluency is reshaping entertainment into participatory, globally influenced formats that blur the line between creator and audience.