The trend of bold scenes and romantic content in films has indeed increased in many film industries, including Tollywood, since movies like Arjun Reddy. Now, according to a recent survey from UCLA, young adults and teenagers are expressing their fatigue with the abundance of romance and sexual content in TV shows and movies. They are increasingly seeking a shift in focus towards friendships and non-romantic relationships in media.
This survey highlights that a significant portion of respondents, around 44.3%, believe that romance is overused in the content they consume. Moreover, approximately 47.5% feel that explicit sexual content is unnecessary for the storytelling. A substantial majority, accounting for 51.5%, desire more content centered around friendships, while 39% are looking for characters who are not primarily focused on romantic relationships.
The report suggests that today’s young generation often experiences feelings of loneliness and desires more realistic portrayals of relationships in the media they consume. In many cases, they are having less sexual activity compared to previous generations at the same age, and a significant portion prefer to remain single.
These young individuals are also avid fans of binge-watching, enjoying the experience of watching multiple episodes in a row. They exhibit a preference for original content as opposed to remakes and franchises. While they once wanted to see lives vastly different from their own on screen, now they seek content that reflects lives more similar to theirs.
Authenticity holds immense value for them in media, with platforms like TikTok and content creators like Mr. Beast being praised for their genuine and relatable content.
A similar trend may soon emerge in India, as many Indian web series have been criticized for featuring explicit and vulgar content without clear relevance to the plot. Unless such content involves well-known personalities, Indian youth are also losing interest in consuming explicit material in every web series.
