Temps de lecture : 7 min 29 s

There are 8 million young people between 15 and 24 years old in France (source: Insee). Those we call “Generation Z” are, like the young people of each generation, pioneers in their media practices. They have taken ownership of the technology available to them. Their uses also respond to a strong desire to personalise their choices and to the need to be connected to others through digital technology and joint media practices. 

Young people are media-hungry, both alone and connected with others

Young people aged 15 to 24 have become tech-savvy almost without realising it and are naturally very fond of digital devices, which offer them the opportunity to personalise and individualise their practices, while still being connected to their environment. They are also characterised by more nomadism than other generations.

In January 2024, 84.7% of 15–24-year-olds (which is 6.6 million young people) went on the internet every day. On average, 15–24-year-olds spent 3 hours 50 minutes per day on the internet, including 3 hours 34 minutes on their mobile phones. This is much more than for the whole population, 74.7% of whom went on the internet every day. Internet users spent an average of 2 hours 23 minutes [1] per day on-line.

These young people consult media mainly from their smartphones, even more so than the rest of the population. Social media accounted for 58% of their daily time spent on-line. More than 8 in 10 (81.3%) of them connected to it every day in January 2024. These websites and apps are the gateway to many of their uses : watching videos, using instant messaging, playing video games, viewing good deals, news or photos [2]. More than one young person aged 15-24 in three (36.2%) said that staying in touch with their friends was their main reason for registering on Instagram. A desire to share their hobbies and interests was another important reason (for nearly one in four).

In addition to their individual internet use, television is a family and collective media anchor for 15–24-year-olds. 54% of them had daily contact with television, i.e. 4.1 million (74% for ages 4 and over). They carried out 10% of their total television consumption on digital devices at home, i.e. on computers, smartphones and tablets (twice as many as those aged 25-49). 27% of their television consumption took place outside of their home, on a television or another device (three times more than 25–49-year-olds). [3]

Young people have mastered the art of composing their tailor-made practices. They often watch TV programmes on catch-up, a very common practice among this population, especially for reality TV and suspense genres which encourage binge-watching. Similarly, 15–24-year-olds are particularly keen on SVOD, more than 2 in 3 (67%) watched it in the past 12 months and continue to do so, whereas it is 1 in 2 people for the entire population [4]. Their reasons for using SVOD are particularly linked to the possibility of choosing the viewing time and downloading videos to watch them off-line.

On Smart TVs, the three most common uses practised by those aged 15-24 are: playing video games, watching SVOD programmes and viewing multimedia content. [5]

As for audio, more than 6.5 million 15–24-year-olds listened to at least one piece of audio content every day, which is 84% of them [6]. This is slightly more than their elders. They did most of this listening on their own.

Among audio offerings, in 2023, more than half of young people aged 15 to 24 (nearly 4 million young people) listened to the radio every day on average during the week [7]. And every month, more than 9 out of 10 of them tuned in to radio stations, which was 6.8 million listeners between 15 and 24 years old.

As with television, 15–24-year-olds listened to radio on the move more than the general population : 43.7% of their listening took place in the car, compared to 33.6% for the general population. Over a quarter (27.8%) of their listening took place at school, university or at work for young professionals (14.2% for the entire population) [8]. Likewise, they used digital media more, with over a quarter of their radio listening (26%) taking place on tablets, computers, phones, connected speakers or televisions (21.3% for all 13 years and over). [9]

Finally, every day, more than 1 young person in 2 (52.1%) played video games. [10]

15–24-year-olds are big fans of digital media and entertainment and are particularly connected compared to the general population. They were notably over-equipped with computers (desktop or laptop), games consoles (fixed or portable), connected TV boxes, connected speakers and home cinema systems. [11]

Young people have a digital mindset

As always, young people are the first to adopt new practices. This is particularly true for social media. For example, 15–24-year-olds account for two-thirds of the audience of BeReal, the French social media app launched in 2020.

The craze for social media has contributed to the success of websites and apps for photo and video retouching and editing. These websites have made significant progress in recent years : 38.7% of young people used them in January 2024 (28% in January 2022). The top three was made up of Canva, CapCut (for which 15–24-year-olds accounted for a third of the audience) and InShot.

Video and cinema websites and apps were also popular with Generation Z. More than half used them every day (55.9% compared to 37.5% for the entire population). Along with YouTube, Netflix, Amazon Prime and Disney+, they visit other entertainment platforms, such as the streaming site Crunchyroll, which specialises in Anime (animated series adapted from Manga), of which they represent nearly half of the audience.

Another important category for this age group is on-line games, which 41.5% of them play every day. 15–24-year-olds spent 20 minutes on average on them, mainly on their mobile phones. The Twitch platform is the leader in its category among young people. As for Discord, a messaging service designed for gamers, one third of 15–24-year-olds (35.9%) use it every month.

Young people listen to a lot of music. 48.6% of 15–24-year-olds visit music websites and apps every day. Spotify is the number one player in the category.

According to the Global Audio study, music streaming accounted for more than half of audio listening among 15–24-year-olds (51%). Live radio accounted for 17% and music played in the background on video sites 16%. Followed by podcasts, personal music and finally audiobooks. Digital accounted for the majority of their audio listening (82%).

Young people were the first to take an interest in generative Artificial Intelligence tools, particularly ChatGPT, which is in the lead. In January 2024, 1 in 5 young people (20.3%) viewed them.

Finally, reading on-line, on sites such as Webtoon and Wattpad, is very popular among young people. In January 2024, 1 in 5 young people (20.2%) viewed these websites during the month.

TV - drama and entertainment

Whatever device they watch them on, 15–24-year-olds enjoy television programmes, especially fiction, TV journals and game shows.

Like the general population, 15–24-year-olds are fiction fans. Almost one in five (18.8%) watched it in the first quarter of 2024. In this area, they preferred thrillers or comedy films and series, as well as daily soap operas. For example, “Le Nounou”, which aired on TF1 during prime-time on 26 February 2024, attracted one in two viewers between the ages of 15 and 24 that evening. Almost 1 in 3 young prime-time viewers (32.3%) watched the animated film “Coco” broadcast on M6 on 19 January 2024.

Beyond fiction, 15.3% of viewers aged 15-24 watched TV news shows, mainly focused on culture and news, as well as escapism. Almost 1 young viewer in 3 (31.8%) watched the programme “Grands Reportages” broadcast on TF1 at the weekend after the 1 pm news. The science review magazine “E=M6”, which airs every Sunday on Access prime-time, attracted 17.8% of 15-24-year-olds to watch it on TV during the first quarter of 2024.

15–24-year-olds are the viewers who were the biggest fans of TV game shows, especially when they involve a concept of competition or even elimination of candidates. 12% of them watched some in the first quarter of 2024. On France 2, more than 1 in 5 young prime-time viewers (22.3%) watched the three episodes of “The Floor” broadcast every Saturday from 6 January to 20 January. Young people also made up a significant proportion of the audience for reality TV programmes such as “Temptation Island”, which aired on W9 from 18 January to 11 March.

Finally, as the Euro Football Championship approaches, which will be held from 14 June to 14 July 2024, we should mention young people’s interest in sporting events. 546,000 watched Euro 2020 in the summer of 2021 on TF1 and M6, which is an audience share of 57%. More of them than the rest of the population followed the competition away from home or on the move.

As regards SVOD, although, like the rest of the population, 15–24-year-olds watched films, series and documentaries, they were more into Anime and, once again, reality TV shows3.

Radio - music first and foremost

On the radio, 15-24-year-olds love musical programmes : in 2023, over 2.6 million of them listened to these shows every day, or one in 3 young people(33.5%). Listeners aged 13 and over tend to listen to general interest programmes. [7]

For a third of 15- to 24-year-olds, radio is the most used means of discovering new music, particularly rap, which nearly half of them (47%) listen to mainly via this media. [6] 

Laure Osmanian Molinero