Movies, TikToks, or the In-Between?

According to a survey conducted by research company Deloitte, 56% of Gen Zers and 43% of millennials find social media content “more relevant than traditional TV shows and movies.”

Gen Z spend 26% less time than average watching TV and movies.

After COVID, with a rise in the use of TikTok platforms and being “sucked into” short videos, the younger generation has found algorithms and short-term dopamine to be the fastest way to entertain in their busy lives. Attention spans are corrupted; according to 34th Street, “Nearly 50% of users surveyed by TikTok said that videos longer than a minute long were ‘stressful.’” The duration, on average, of users without getting distracted has dropped from 2.5 minutes in 2004 to 45 seconds in 2023. Social media, and more specifically TikTok, is permanently altering the brain mechanisms, which are very harmful especially to teenagers whose brains are at their most efficient stage of gaining new information, but getting wasted on short videos.

Consequently, movies, which usually take at least an hour to watch, gradually decrease in appeal for daily entertainment. Even when watching movies, the younger generation tends to reach for their phones and scroll on social media. The artistry and deeper meaning behind the movie are usually left uninterpreted due to the loss of attention. Cayla Liu, a Senior in a Texas high school, said, “[while scrolling] When I realize I start to not understand the plot of the movie, I would sometimes backtrack. Sometimes by the end of the movie, I feel that I haven’t watched the movie at all.” 

Having grown up under algorithms and content creators with specific niches and interests, the more popular way of gaining a movie’s information is through shortened videos that cover an overview of the movie or a capcut of the exciting scenes. With background music to elevate emotional intensity, some of the 3-minute fast stories recap stay in the viewer’s memories, while most slip. However, what results from most circumstances of watching movie edits is—when encountering the movie again, to feel a movie’s familiarity, but not be able to recall any details or deeper meanings behind them. That is what ruins a good movie. For you remember the resolution that usually drives one to keep watching, but not the journey—usually the reason why the movie was made in the first place.

Additionally, mini-drama, a new way of entertainment, became a popular choice for the younger generation. It is often characterized by videos under 3 minutes and incredibly dramatic plots with exaggerated sound effects, a quick way to watch a soap drama with barely any depth, yet addictive enough to feel relaxed. In fact, China’s mini-dreama streaming market is booming, generating nearly $7 billion in revenue in 2024, surpassing the box office. Bite-sized vertical videos and a pay-per-episode model benefit from ads and subscriptions on platforms like ReelShort and minimize production cost to maximize earnings, with an expected $16 billion by 2030. Traditionally streaming platforms, however, have been working towards adaptations to the new form of entertainment as well, such as introducing video games on Netflix.

Though not all effects from TikTok are negative, as it increases movie revenue through advertisements and activates existing fandoms and reignites passion for classic shows such as Friends and Modern Family, the patience to sit and watch a good movie has slowly faded away over the past few years.