In the UK, Channel 4 is thinking of its bottom line - as it should, but, the broadcaster appears to be trying to pass off the existential fear of facing the competition coming from non-legacy online media as a "think of the youths" moment - which it shouldn't.
Nevertheless, CEO Alex Mahon in late January gave a speech about Channel 4's "latest research" - which opens with an attempt to dissect how "Gen Z" lives and what impacts their lives, to make several key points: one, they are getting their news through social media (i.e., independent creators and outlets).
And, that (in reality, Covid measures imposed by authorities) had the effect of "delaying their (Gen Z's) advance into adulthood." Mahon says it makes young people the pandemic's "collateral damage" - since it made their "views and identities remain flexible for longer."
Another negative, to Mahon's mind, is that they will, to her apparent horror, "continue questioning norms and challenging authority far beyond their teenage years."
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