What Are The Most Popular Content Consumed By American Teens Amid The Pandemic?

Available data suggests that Netflix, YouTube, Gossip Girl, Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat, Among Us and The Joe Rogan Experience are leading forms of content.

Table of Contents

TV / Video

Netflix

Netflix was selected as the most popular form of television or video content consumed by American teens at present based on October 2020 reporting by Chain Store age that US teenagers are currently spending most of their daily video time with this television and movie streaming service.
Specifically, 34% of the time US teens have spent during the pandemic on video consumption has been through Netflix.
Notably, Netflix’s category leadership among American teenagers is further corroborated by April 2020 reporting by Digital Information World.
Meanwhile, the television and video streaming service is likely popular among American teens due to its wide variety of content.

YouTube

In parallel, YouTube was similarly chosen as a leading television or video content format among US teenagers based on consistent reporting between April and October 2020 that this free online video streaming site is second only to Netflix among this cohort.
According to The Wall Street Journal, YouTube is currently “ruling” teenager’s lives with its “rabbit holes” and its wide variety of unique content, such as slime videos.

Gossip Girl

Meanwhile, Gossip Girl was identified as a popular television show among US teens during the pandemic based on its ranking as the “best teen drama TV show” among its teenager fan base as of October 2020.
Notably, Gossip Girl is a relatively old drama television show that originally aired in 2007 and is based on a novel series of the same name.

Social Media

Snapchat

Snapchat was chosen as American teenagers’ favorite social media app during the pandemic based on October 2020 reporting by CNBC.
Specifically, 34% of US teens currently rate Snapchat as their favorite social app, which enables them to enjoy “short videos, live video chatting, messaging, creating caricature-like Bitmoji avatars, and sharing chronological stories.”
According to Snapchat, its popularity among this cohort is because it “make people feel happy.”

TikTok

Similarly, TikTok was selected because it is currently the second-most-popular social media app among American teens, according to the latest available reporting.
The videosharing app is the favorite social media site of 29% of US teenagers, owing to its promotion of self-expression and unique content.

Instagram

Finally, Instagram was surpassed by TikTok during the pandemic, and is now the third-most-popular site among US teens.
It was identified as a top form of content for this cohort during the coronavirus outbreak based on the fact that 25% of American teenagers rate the site as their favorite.
Moreover, despite its slightly lower ranking, Instagram is first among US teens in terms of engagement (84%).
Meanwhile, one of the reason’s for the picture-sharing site’s popularity among teens is that it “fosters relationships with their friends and community at large.”

Games

Among Us

Although there is limited information about the most popular games among US teens at present, Among Us was selected as one of the leading games with American teenagers based on reporting by The New York Times in October 2020 and DesertNews in September 2020.
As further evidence of its popularity, AmongUs is currently the third-most-popular game overall on Steam, where it has more than 10 million users.
According to DesertNews, the online video game became particularly popular among teens during the pandemic because it started to “serve as a default social platform for young people stuck in quarantine.”

Podcasts

The Joe Rogan Experience

Lastly, The Joe Rogan Experience was identified as a top podcast among US teens based on the fact that comedy has remained the top podcast genre among this cohort throughout the pandemic, and The Joe Rogan Experience is currently rated as among the most downloaded comedy podcasts.
Specifically, The Joe Rogan Experience is the first, third or fifth-most-popular comedy podcast in the country at present, according to podcast ranking sites such as Podbay, Ranker and Podcast Insights.
Meanwhile, The Joe Rogan Experience is likely popular among US teens because of its joint presence on YouTube.