Frankfurt, 28 May 2026. Moving images are an integral part of everyday life for children and adolescents: 85.3 percent of 1- to 17-year-olds use moving-image content every day — whether through linear television, streaming services, video portals, or videos on social media. Moving-image content already reaches nearly all children at preschool age. At the same time, usage patterns, device preferences, and the role of individual platforms are changing significantly. While streaming and social media are increasingly shaping self-directed media consumption, the television set remains a central gathering point for shared family moments.
These are current findings from the “AGF Next Gen Video Study 2026,” commissioned by AGF Videoforschung and conducted by the market research institute Kantar in March 2026. The study builds on the foundational “AGF GenZ” study from 2020, and for the first time also includes children from the age of one, covering the full spectrum of moving-image consumption — including social media.
Using a modular study design consisting of a quantitative online survey and an additional qualitative module, 5,250 children and adolescents aged 1 to 17, or their parents, were surveyed, and 24 in-depth qualitative and paired interviews were conducted. For the youngest children, parents answered the questions on behalf of their child; as the children grew older, they themselves were increasingly involved in the survey process. The results are representative of children and adolescents in Germany. This makes the study one of the most comprehensive studies conducted in Germany on this topic in recent years.
“Today, moving-image content is no longer a special medium for children and adolescents, but rather a natural part of their everyday lives — as self-evident as school, sports, or meeting friends,” explains Kerstin Niederauer-Kopf. “At the same time, the study shows how strongly usage patterns have diversified: children today grow up with a wide variety of platforms, devices, and content, and develop their own routines and preferences from a very early age.”
Children watch what their parents model
The AGF Next Gen Video Study 2026 shows that overall moving-image consumption remains stable at a high level. At the same time, media usage is increasingly shifting toward streaming and social media. Parents serve as a key point of reference in children’s moving-image consumption: when parents frequently use television, streaming services, or videos on social media, the use of these formats among children also increases significantly.
Smartphone Becomes the Primary Device for Young People
Children develop a clear “device-channel logic” already at primary school age. Shorter content and social media are mainly consumed on smartphones or tablets, while longer content such as movies, series, or sports is preferably watched on television sets.
The share of children owning their own smartphones increases particularly strongly after the transition to secondary school. Among 11- to 13-year-olds, 84.3 percent already own a smartphone, while among 14- to 17-year-olds the figure rises to 91.2 percent.
“The smartphone becomes young people’s personal primary device at an early stage,” says Kerstin Niederauer-Kopf. “At the same time, the TV set remains important — increasingly as a shared medium for movies, series, or major live events.”
Television as a Medium for Relationships
Despite increasingly individualized media consumption, shared viewing experiences remain an important part of everyday family life. In particular, movie and series nights are consciously organized by many families as collective experiences.
The qualitative study shows that watching together is primarily associated with closeness, togetherness, and shared memories. Longer-form content such as films, series, or sporting events is especially often consumed together. The quantitative survey confirms this strong “campfire” character of television programming from the parents’ perspective: among children aged 3 to 6, parents are always or often present in 83.5 percent of cases when their child watches linear television programming. Even among 14- to 17-year-olds, this figure still stands at 50.1 percent.
In contrast, self-directed and individualized media use mainly takes place through streaming services and social media on smartphones or tablets, while the television set is increasingly being used for intentional shared time.
“Today, linear television plays a stronger role as a shared experiential space,” explains Kerstin Niederauer-Kopf. “Particularly during major sporting events or consciously created family moments, television continues to demonstrate a clear campfire character.”
Favorite characters and role models differentiate themselves early on
The study clearly shows that the role of moving images changes significantly over the course of growing up. While younger children primarily prefer familiar characters, clear stories, and age-appropriate formats, with increasing age social media, influencers, series, and content with a stronger sense of realism become more important.
Favorite content and role models develop along typical age phases. Among 1- to 2-year-olds, “Paw Patrol” is one of the most frequently mentioned favorite shows—one in ten children in this age group is a fan of the series. Among 3- to 6-year-old boys, “Paw Patrol” also ranks far ahead of other shows, while girls of the same age most often follow “Peppa Pig” and “Bluey.” Notably, at the youngest age group, at least half of YouTube use consists of TV content—meaning children watch videos on YouTube that are directly related to traditional television brands and formats. At this age, the platform and broadcast brands are closely intertwined.
With increasing age, creators, influencers, and gaming personalities move more into the foreground. For adolescents, moving images increasingly also serve as a means of orientation, inspiration, and identity formation. Among 14- to 17-year-olds, lifestyle, special-interest, and value-driven influencers shape the range of role models.
“Moving images are no longer used by children and adolescents solely for entertainment today,” says Kerstin Niederauer-Kopf. “They are a source of inspiration, a social reference point, and part of their personal development.”
Social media becomes indispensable from school age onwards
By the time children reach secondary school at the latest, social media is a fixed part of their everyday reality. Across all age groups, comedy and meme content represent the lowest common denominator. Among 14- to 17-year-old girls, beauty and fashion content is the most frequently mentioned genre at 46.8 percent, while among boys of the same age gaming and eSports lead at 47.0 percent.
The relationship between consumption and active posting is clearly asymmetrical: purely passive consumption is far more common in all age groups than creating and publishing one’s own content. Regarding a potential social media ban, the study shows that parental approval decreases as children get older. Overall, 70.3 percent of parents surveyed supported a social media ban. At the same time, the results highlight how naturally social media has become part of everyday life and social communication among children and adolescents, especially from school age onwards.
Children and adolescents as pioneers of media usage
Children and adolescents have always been among the most dynamic and adaptable target groups in media consumption: they often adopt new platforms and forms of use first and are pioneers in the transformation of moving-image consumption. For AGF, it is therefore of particular importance to closely understand the usage patterns and preferences of the youngest and younger audiences.
“With the AGF Next Gen Video Study 2026, we are creating an empirically robust foundation that, on the one hand, validates observable effects in AGF panel measurement within this demanding target group and, on the other hand, adds further perspectives. This supports us in further developing our measurement instruments,” Kerstin Niederauer-Kopf concludes.