Filmgoers born after 1997 are reviving cinemas’ hopes of survival. They tell us about the social experience where ‘there’s absolutely no commitment to chat’
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eople born between 1997 and 2012 are now more frequent cinemagoers than some older age groups, according to a US-based survey by Fandango, with 87% having seen at least one film in a cinema in the last 12 months compared with 58% of baby boomers.
With this in mind we asked young people about why they love the cinema.
Many who responded said that the big screen offers respite from small screens. “It’s a distraction-free zone,” says Emma Balfour, 19, from Kirkcaldy in Scotland. “It helps me stay off my phone, since it’s something I want to stop using so much. There’s a lot more social stigma around being on your phone when a film’s playing on a cinema screen versus your own home, and the complete darkness means I can fully immerse myself.”
