The Gen Zalpha reset Rewiring entertainment for the next generation

Today’s digital entertainment landscape was designed by and for millennials. New generations are seeking something different. This report examines the entertainment behaviours of the youngest members of the Gen Z cohort, aged 16–19 – where they are spending their time, how, and why. It explains how to rewire entertainment experiences for Gen Z and Gen Alpha, with playbooks for the music industry and beyond.

Key data and insights in this report:

• Data presented mainly for 16-19 year old groups, often compared to consumer average or other age groups.
• Weekly time spend on different entertainment types by 16–19-year-olds across time, going back to 2022
• Prevalence of listening to new releases and having conversations about music across age groups
• Importance of music streaming as part of identity across age groups, compared to 2023
• Music streaming behaviour snapshot: top consumption platforms by WAUs, monthly music behaviours
• Gaming behaviour snapshot: top games services paid for, monthly gaming behaviours
• Audio behaviour snapshot: top podcast genres, platforms for podcast access and MAU for podcasts and audiobooks
• Social media behaviour snapshot: top social platforms by WAUs, weekly feature use for social platforms
• Behaviours towards reducing screen time
• Attitudes to AI on social platforms and music artists using AI
• Attitudes towards remixing and modifying existing content

Data used:

• MIDiA Research Consumer Survey Q1 2026, US, UK, Australia, Canada, France, Spain, Poland, Japan, Colombia, n = 9,000
• MIDiA Research Consumer Survey Q4 2025, US, UK, Australia, Canada, Germany, France, Sweden, South Korea, Brazil, n = 9,084
• MIDiA Research Consumer Survey Q4 2024, US, UK, Australia, Canada, Germany, France, Sweden, South Korea, Brazil, n = 9,019
• MIDiA Research Consumer Survey Q4 2023, US, UK, Australia, Canada, Germany, France, Sweden, South Korea, Brazil, n = 9,000
• MIDiA Research Consumer Survey Q4 2022, US, UK, Australia, Canada, Germany, France, Sweden, South Korea, Brazil, n = 9,000
• MIDiA Research Consumer Survey Q1 2023, US, UK, Australia, Canada, n = 4,000.
• MIDiA Research Consumer Survey Q1 2026, US, UK, Australia, Canada, n = 4,000.