Teens’ Friendship Ended With Netflix, Now YouTube Is Their Best Friend

A new survey suggests that American teens—a generation that doesn’t know what life was like without streaming—now favor watching videos on YouTube rather than the previously all-powerful Netflix.

The survey, reported on by outlets such as CNBC and ABC News, was conducted by investment bank Piper Sandler—its 46th semi-annual survey of teens. This edition was conducted during September 2023 and polled nearly 10,000 members of Generation Z across 49 states; the average age was between 15 and 16 years old. Topics included things like favorite apparel brands (Nike), social media sites (TikTok), gadgets (iPhone), celebrities (Taylor Swift), e-commerce sites (Amazon), and, generally, how teens like to spend their time and money—the latter of which makes free YouTube’s overtaking of subscription-based Netflix of particular note, even if we can assume most teens are watching Netflix thanks to family accounts. (See the key findings of the survey here.)

As CNBC notes, “Teens polled by the bank said they spent 29.1% of their daily video consumption time on Google-owned YouTube, beating out Netflix for the first time at 28.7%. Time on YouTube rose since the spring, adding nearly a percentage point, while Netflix fell more than two percentage points … Netflix and YouTube were the two clear leaders in terms of daily video consumption by platform. Hulu was in third place, with a share around 7%, according to the survey. Prime Video and Disney+ both gained time share, the analysts found. Teenagers indicated they were spending less of their time on cable TV, HBO Max and Hulu versus the spring, according to the survey.”

According to the CNBC report, Piper Sandler analysts don’t have a definitive reason for YouTube’s rising popularity among this demographic, other than to note there’s a wealth of choices in the streaming industry. (Maybe too many choices?) “We wonder if this is a push or a pull in regards to the changing consumption habits, as content on YouTube appears to be improving over time and the streaming industry becomes more and more competitive,” the analysts wrote.