43% of Gen Z chooses YouTube and TikTok over traditional TV. Microdramas are a big reason why.

Here’s a word of advice for scripted production studios: Make like Sabrina Carpenter and keep it short and sweet.

That sage wisdom is backed up by the results of a survey published by Activate Consulting. For its Technology & Media Outlook 2026, Activate measured consumers’ relative activity on traditional and new media platforms. Among Gen Z respondents, the results were informative: As formats like the microdrama continue to redefine digital consumption, a growing number of twentysomethings are shunning traditional channels in favor of social video.

According to Activate CEO Michael Wolf, who presented the firm’s findings at the WSJ Tech Live event, 43% of Gen Z respondents listed YouTube and TikTok as their preferred destinations for entertainment and news. Microdramas are one of several formats drawing attention; those brief shows are now watched by 28 million U.S. adults, more than half of whom are between the ages of 18 and 34.

That figure represents a precipitous rise

for a format that was unknown to most Americans just a few years ago. Microdramas are inspired by short-form shows in China, some of which have been distributed through TikTok’s sister app Douyin (though YouTube is Americans’ top source for microdramas). By serving the appetites of impatient, multitasking viewers, microdramas have become so popular that they’re even reviving the dormant web series trend — at least for now.

The growth of social entertainment hubs comes at the expense of traditional players, who received more bad news from the Activate report. While the time spent on streaming video is expected to rise to an average of four hours and eight minutes per day by 2029, linear TV is projected to drop to one hour and 17 minutes per day.

Naturally, those trends will affect distributors’ bottom lines. Streaming revenue from ads and subscriptions is due for a year-over-year increase of 18%, while traditional TV revenue will decline four to six percent over the same period.

What can the old fogeys even do with this information? YouTube and TikTok are woven into the fabric of Gen Z culture, so much so that platforms initially used for indie entertainment are now trusted sources for Hollywood blockbusters. Linear broadcasters can adapt (as many in the U.K. have), but even if they do, they’re not guaranteed to catch up to YouTube’s massive market share on TV screens. That lead may be here to stay.