Social Media Influencers Are More Popular Than Movie Stars Among Gen Z
There is a shift happening in entertainment, with a majority of Gen Z Americans saying YouTube and TikTok influencers are more popular than movie and TV stars, according to a new survey from Deloitte.
The 2025 Digital Media Trends report, released Tuesday, showed 52% of Gen Z-ers said they feel a “stronger personal connection” to social stars than to TV personalities or actors. And 56% said social content is “more relevant” to them than TV series or movies.
Gen Z — those who were born between 1997 and 2010 — was the only age cohort where a majority felt this way; Millennials, or those who were born between 1983 and 1996, were not too far off, though, with 45% saying they felt closer to social influencers, and 43% saying they preferred social content.
Unsurprisingly, the relative popularity of social influencers to TV and movie stars leads Gen Z-ers to spending a lot more time watching social content than shows or films.
“[Gen Z] respondents spend 54% more time — or about 50 minutes more — than the average consumer per day on social platforms and watching UGC; and 26% less time — or about 44 minutes less per day — than the average person watching TV and movies,” Deloitte’s report, lead by six of its analysts, said.
The report, based on a survey of 3,595 Americans in October, may not come as much of a surprise, considering the wild popularity of YouTubers, like MrBeast, who has 378 million subscribers. YouTube has also become the go-to hub for viewers to watch sports and political content, among an endless list of topics. And TikTok is also wildly popular among Americans, with a recent Pew survey finding the average TikTok users in the U.S. scrolls the app for 107 minutes per day.
Beyond the rise of social influencers, a few other entertainment-related findings stood out from Deloitte’s report. A majority of respondents said $25 per month was “too much” to spend on their favorite streaming service — which is interesting, considering Netflix’s premium tier now costs $24.99 per month. Most respondents said $14 was “just the right price” to pay each month for a service.
Overall, the average American is spending 13% more on streaming in 2025 — $69 per month compared to $61 a year ago, even though they are still using the same average number of services (4). Still, streaming is cheaper than the $125 per month the average cable and satellite customer is paying, Deloitte found.
You can find the full report by clicking here.
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