Key stat: 45% of 18-29-year-olds prefer reading the news, compared to just 31% who prefer watching it, according to an August 2025 survey from Pew Research Center.

Beyond the chart:

• This text-first preference aligns with how young adults consume content overall. Gen Z spends 58% of their video time on social media rather than streaming services, according to Deloitte, favoring short-form, scrollable formats over lean-back viewing.
• Young consumers also bring a research-driven mindset to information gathering. Nearly 90% cross-check results across multiple platforms before making decisions, according to Yext, suggesting they're comfortable synthesizing text from multiple sources rather than relying on a single video explainer.

Use this chart: Show this to media buyers defending text-based ad placements for younger demos. Use it in content strategy meetings to justify investing in written formats alongside video. Drop it into any deck challenging the assumption that Gen Z only watches. They're reading, too.

Related EMARKETER reports:

• Gen Z Social Media Usage 2025 (EMARKETER subscription required)
• US Time Spent with Media 2025 (EMARKETER subscription required)

Methodology: Data is from the November 2025 Pew Research Center report titled "More Americans Prefer to Watch the News Than Read or Listen to It." 5,153 US adults from the American Trends Panel (ATP) were surveyed during August 18-24, 2025. The survey was conducted online and achieved a 93% response rate, with a margin of sampling error of +/-1.6 percentage points for the full sample. Data were weighted to represent the US adult population by gender, age, race, ethnicity, partisan affiliation, education, and other categories. The survey included an oversample of non-Hispanic Asian adults to ensure sufficient analytical power for this subgroup. Weighted adjustments corrected for nonresponse and oversampling, and the cumulative response rate, accounting for recruitment and attrition, was 3%.