Teenagers have a reputation for short attention spans and an unwillingness to engage with longer content. They’ll click out of a video or article if it’s not immediately entertaining, and they’re more likely to watch videos if they’re short. But that’s not because teens can’t sit still and focus for more than a few seconds – it’s because they’re already extremely savvy consumers. Teens are discerning about where they direct their awareness.

Thanks to sophisticated YouTube algorithms and perfectly tailored social media feeds, teens have grown up accustomed to curated content. As a result, they know exactly what interests them.

A few qualities make teens more likely to watch a video all the way through. Being funny (52%), having an interesting topic (46%), and being short in length (43%) are important. Teens also like having a good sense of what a video will be about (44%), and videos made by a creator they already know they like (42%).

Teens are so good at knowing what they want they can tell almost instantly whether something is worth their time. Videos that are funny, compelling, short, and familiar in some way are most likely to catch their eye!