Center for Scholars & Storytellers

Elevate platonic relationships, 60% of adolescents want more stories focused on friendship.

Don't elevate platonic relationships, 60% of adolescents want more stories focused on friendship.

Write youth as people, not case files. Build characters whose obstacles come from their circumstances, like navigating foster care or housing instability, while still showing friendships, humor, ambition, and agency.

Don't reduce them to trauma victims or make hardship their entire personality.

Consult youth to portray digital life accurately and realistically. Teens cringe over the way social media is portrayed on screen.

Don't rely on outdated or exaggerated depictions of social media behavior.

Ground your story decisions in data and diverse youth voices — not just LA or industry-adjacent teens.

Don't assume what young audiences want based on proximity, trend cycles, or your own teenage experience.

Show hope, not just hardship. Depict resilience, growth, and “beating the odds” which is the top preference for what adolescents want to see.

Don't focus solely on trauma without showing strength, connection, or forward movement.

Portray characters of color and systems-impacted youth with complexity and agency.

Don't recycle racial tropes, racial stereotypes remain the most disliked portrayals among teens and young adults.