If a third of young people no longer watch TV, what do they watch?

BarcelonaOne in three young people misses more culture in Catalan and policies that promote it, especially Catalan-language films and video games. However, although they find Catalan culture neither elitist nor of lower quality, they don't consume it solely out of linguistic commitment.

The survey Culture in Dispute A study on the cultural practices of youth in the Catalan Countries, commissioned by the Guillem Agulló Training School of Òmnium, which interviewed 1,500 people from across the region, reveals that the cultural activities most frequently engaged in by young people aged 18 to 34 are listening to music and viewing social media content (before watching series more than once a week), listening to podcasts, and playing video games.

Youth culture is increasingly virtual and less in-person. More than half of young people never or almost never go to museums and concerts, and 70% never or very rarely go to the theater. Most say they are not attracted to in-person events that are scheduled, and 64% say it is because they are expensive—or they have that perception because, paradoxically, they say they are willing to pay around twenty euros to go to the theater and fifty euros for festivals or concerts. In rural areas, half of young people are nearly 10 points more dissatisfied with the offering than those in urban areas.

31% of young people no longer watch television, but of those who do, one in three watches Antena 3, while the corresponding regional channel is in second place (3Cat, À Punt, IB3), followed by RTVE, Tele 5, La Sexta, and Cuatro. Young people's identification with Catalan greatly influences their television viewing: practically half of those who identify with Catalan do watch their regional channel, while only about 20% of those who identify with Spanish do. The most popular platforms among millennials and Generation Z are Netflix (75%), Prime Video (57%), Disney+ (37%), and HBO Max (30%).

Almost 80% of young people are regular YouTube users, ahead of TikTok and Telegram, while only one in four young people log on to X and Twitch. In fact, X is the lowest-rated network, along with Telegram, which are spaces seen as more hostile. "Young people are not on a single platform or on the most viral or newest platform, but each platform has its purposes," says researcher Marta Meneu (UV), who carried out the study together with sociologist Sara Gil (UVic-UCC). All networks are for entertainment, but X consider that it is above all for information and use Instagram to communicate. Z are especially hooked on TikTok.

User profiles are also very different. "Boys tend to spaces where there is more discourse and girls end up in more superficial, more aesthetic and more viral spaces," says Meneu. Fashion, beauty, and lifestyle are the topics they search for, and they primarily watch short videos and vertical formats (Instagram, TikTok). Humor, sports, and politics are what men search for, that is, horizontal and longer videos (Twitch, YouTube). "Social media, which are more democratic and diverse spaces, reproduce structural and historical situations," the researchers affirm. Despite a high level of feminized consumption of social media,star system Digital is masculinized and Castilianized: Ibai, YoSoyPlex, AuronPlay, IlloJuan, The Grefg, Rubius, Jordi Wild, Maria Pombo. The study does point out that some Catalan influencers and those in Catalan are emerging, such as Juliana Canet and Jan Raich, among others.

For Òmnium, we must "destigmatize youth" as apathetic and disconnected generations, although the study reveals that what young people are looking for is more fun and diversity than concepts such as roots, criticism or, much less, parity. Xavier Antich, president of Òmnium Cultural, affirms that "it is urgent to summon the cultural sector, both public and private, and all institutions, to respond to a cry that is clear and distinct: young people want more culture, they want it in Catalan, they want it throughout the territory and they need to be able to access it without economic barriers." "Culture strengthens community and belonging; therefore, leisure and culture can be gateways to community life in Catalan and a way to fight the far right," says Mariona Lladonosa, a member of the organization's board.