I recently joined CNET covering TVs (hello!) and started by asking some friends a basic question: What do you look for in a TV? But I quickly realized I should’ve been asking a different question: whether any of them actually own a TV. As it stands, many don’t.
I’m part of Gen Z, defined as those born between 1997 and 2012. My friends and I have long relied primarily on personal devices like phones and laptops over traditional TV screens for entertainment. My last handful of apartments went without a TV in the living room. For the most part, my roommates and I would stream content on our laptops.Â
But personal devices can’t do it all. People want TVs for console gaming and as an alternative screen to their computers after a long day of work or school. Plus, watching shows and movies with friends or family on a small screen is clunky and inconvenient.
Recent data shows that Gen Z does, in fact, rely less on TVs now than past generations, but TV makers are adding new features to make sets more appealing to young viewers. Experts I spoke with pointed to increased integration between smartphones and TVs, including the ability to buy products you see in shows or films, may incentivize younger consumers to purchase and use more TVs.Â
Phones beat TVs for streaming shows among Gen Z
A survey of 16- to 23-year-olds in the US, France and Brazil found that the majority — at 50% — use a smartphone as the main device to watch shows, according to Broadpeak, a technology company that designs and manufactures video delivery components. A computer followed as the second most popular source at 30%, with tablets and TVs each accounting for only 10%.
My first instinct was this must be due to the ever-expanding domination of social media like TikTok and Instagram, which can’t be consumed through a TV. But curiously, Gen Z still spends a lot of time streaming. A survey by consumer research firm GWI found that Gen Z typically spends around 2 hours per day streaming. So their consumption…
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