Generation Z and Generation Alpha rarely tune in to FM radio and may barely know AM radio exists, according to a Ring study, a finding that fuels a long-running industry argument over whether traditional broadcast radio is fading among the young.
The claim captures a common perception: digital natives raised on smartphones, streaming apps, YouTube, and TikTok have little reason to hunt for a radio dial. AM, in particular, is often treated as a relic associated with talk, sports, and older listeners rather than music or discovery. Yet the same data landscape that appears to support the Ring study also undercuts a simple “radio is dead for kids” narrative.
Industry research paints a more mixed picture. Edison Research’s Share of Ear studies have repeatedly shown that AM/FM still reaches a majority of teens and young adults daily in the United States, especially in cars, even as those listeners devote a smaller share of their total audio time to broadcast radio than older generations.
Nielsen figures cited by iHeartMedia put monthly radio reach among 13- to 19-year-olds around 90 percent. That's ahead of YouTube and far ahead of ad-supported Spotify. Radio also continues to capture a large slice of ad-supported audio time among Gen Z, outpacing streaming music and podcasts in some measurements. The distinction between FM and AM matters. FM music stations still appear in cars, on smart speakers, and via station apps. AM listening is thinner among the young and more closely tied to news, talk, sports, and emergency alerts. Younger listeners who encounter “radio” often do so without thinking of the AM band at all.
Generation Alpha, born from about 2010 onward, has even less lived experience with analog radio. Other reporting notes that Alpha kids often discover music on short-form video first and may never develop the habit of scanning stations. The debate persists because different studies measure different things: reach versus time spent, over-the-air receivers versus streamed station content, solo listening versus co-listening in cars, and commercial radio versus college or community stations.
Radio companies argue that group listening, local hosts, and “judgment-free” shared audio still give broadcast an edge with teens who worry about what their playlists say about them. Critics and some academic work reply that overall time spent, device ownership, and music-discovery habits have shifted decisively toward on-demand platforms.
The argument is not only cultural. Advertisers, automakers deciding whether AM/FM tuners belong in new cars, and stations planning for an aging core audience all treat the question as commercially urgent. The Ring study’s blunt conclusion, that the youngest cohorts barely use FM and may not register AM — remains one pole of that fight, not a settled fact.