NSFW? No thanks! Sex is no longer a draw for young audiences seeking something edgy at the movie theater.
Variety reports that according to new data from UCLA’s Center for Scholars & Storytellers, Gen Z viewers are tired of on-screen sexual content. (RIP to the raunchy teen sex comedy subgenre.)
Released on Wednesday (October 22), the university’s annual Teens & Screens report, which surveyed 1,500 young adults and teens in August 2025, reveals 48 percent of Gen Z viewers believe there is “too much sex and sexual content” in modern movies and TV shows.
But it’s not just the sex itself that’s turning off Gen Z audiences. Over 60 percent of viewers in the generation are tired of seeing sexual attraction emphasized at the core of romantic relationships on screen, and would prefer to see such relationships depicted “more about the friendship between the couple.”
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And sorry, Bella, Edward, and Jacob: Younger viewers are totally over the whole love triangle trope, once a staple of YA stories such as Twilight and The Hunger Games. They’re also not eager to see portrayals of toxic relationships, either, and would prefer healthier representations of romance in their media.
In fact, according to the data, romance ranks low (third-to-last, to be precise) on the list of topics younger audiences want to see in their movies and shows.
More than 54 percent of respondents shared they would like to see more characters who aren’t interested in pursuing a romantic relationship, while nearly 55 percent want to see more platonic, “different gender friendships” in their films and series.
The findings regarding Gen Z’s indifference toward sex scenes in entertainment media may be surprising considering the sexually edgy lean of so many popular titles geared toward teens and young adults, from Superbad to Fast Times at Ridgemont High and Bottoms. However, the data aligns with an emerging generational trend among younger Gen Z’ers, who are reportedly leaning more conservative than their older Gen Z counterparts and the millennial generation before them.
