Gen Z doesn’t care about the Grammys or Oscars

Anisah Collazo, Staff Writer|April 19, 2022

illustration by Anisah Collazo

Less and less teens care about traditional awards shows like the Grammys and Oscars.

It’s no surprise that both the Grammys and Oscars viewership haven’t reached pre-pandemic levels. The Grammys averaged 8.93 million viewers this year, a small amount more than the year prior, while the Oscars averaged 16.6 million viewers. These averages include those watching through streaming services and through cable television. In the pre-pandemic years both events averaged in the mid 20 millions.

The Oscars viewership improved significantly since the year before. There were some notable spikes in viewership during notable moments such as the momentous slap between Will Smith and Chris Rock, as well as Smith’s acceptance speech for Best Actor later on in the night. However, this year’s Oscars was the second worst viewership in the history of the Oscars.

In a survey sent out on April 11, 87% of surveyors said they did not watch the Grammys or Oscars live. Many surveyors stated that they didn’t watch because they felt their time would be better used doing something else. One surveyor even added that they were doing literally anything else, but watching them.

Gen Z is one of the largest generation groups in the US. The most racially, sexually, and ethnically diverse generation in history. Gen Z is also one of the most demanding generations in regards to societal change, something many already established organizations can not keep up with. 

The world is changing rapidly, but the Oscars and Grammys can not seem to keep up. Streaming has also become increasingly popular over the years, especially after COVID when everyone had to stay home.  More than 80% of US households have at least one streaming service subscription. According to statistics gathered from statista.com, one in three Americans were more likely to cancel cable TV subscriptions. Most people do not want to keep paying cable bills when they can have a streaming service of shows and movies on-demand. 

Many surveyors pointed out that it seems that the same people are being nominated for awards every year and that it gets repetitive and predictable. Some surveyors also added that voting is extremely biased and that artists and actors who truly deserve the awards are often overlooked for the more popular celebrity. 

Many artists who are clearly popular among the majority of the population lose against the winners chosen by the Oscars and Grammys designated voting academies. The Oscars and Grammys are quickly losing credibility among Gen Z and other generations as they skip over deserving artists and actors.   

There is nothing interesting about the Oscars and Grammys anymore. Watching a bunch of rich people get nominated for awards and hearing songs that are overplayed doesn’t scream excitement, especially for teenagers. 

One surveyor said that it’s entertainment that holds no purpose.

The one notable moment about the Oscars was the slap between Will Smith and Chris Rock. Something that finally caught the attention of not only the people watching but the people in attendance. 

If you want to get the attention of a bunch of teenagers you need something that can be turned into a joke, something memeable. TikTok and Twitter were filled with people making jokes about Chris Rock and Will Smith. Many surveyors said they jumped onto twitter to see all the memes being uploaded. 

It has been much debated whether or not the infamous slap was real. Real or not it was the only attention that the Oscars got from Gen Z.