Montréal, January 20, 2026. – What are the sociodemographic characteristics associated with the different cultural practices of young people? The Observatoire de la culture et des communications du Québec answers this question today in the bulletin Portrait des pratiques culturelles des jeunes de 15 à 29 ans au Québec en 2024. This publication is based on data from the 2024 Québec Survey on Cultural Leisure and Entertainment, which focuses on cultural practices in the 12 months prior to the survey.
Younger people consume more content from outside Québec
Among young people who consume music and television content, those aged 15 to 19 are more likely than their older peers to mainly consume content from outside Québec.
Share of young people who mainly consume content from outside Québec by age, population aged 15 to 29 who consumed these cultural products in the 12 months before the survey, Québec, 2024
(in percentages)
Note
a,b,c For a given characteristic, the same superscript letter expresses a significant difference between the proportions at the 0.05 threshold.
Source
Institut de la statistique du Québec, Québec Survey on Cultural Leisure and Entertainment (QSCLE), 2024.
Young people living outside metropolitan areas consume more local content
Among people aged 15 to 29 who consume music, television content, podcasts or books, those who live outside census metropolitan areas (CMAs) are more likely to mainly consume Québec content.
For instance, among people who listen to podcasts, 58% of those living outside CMAs mainly listen to Québec content, which is higher than for young people living in the Montréal CMA (28%) or in another CMA (44%).
Gendered artistic practices
Young women are more likely than young men to practice artistic activities in their free time, including visual arts (68% vs. 36%), writing (50% vs. 34%), music or singing (44% vs. 37%), photography or video production for artistic purposes (44% vs. 32%), dancing (50% vs. 21%), and fine crafts (30% vs. 18%).
In addition, young women are more likely than men to have often engaged in music or singing (34% vs. 19%), visual arts (54% vs. 26%), dancing (33% vs. 4.4%) and fine crafts (11% vs. 5%) between the ages of 6 and 15.
Young people with an immigrant background are active in their artistic practices
Young immigrants are more likely than young people born in Canada whose parents were also both born in Canada to often or sometimes engage in digital creation activities (49% vs. 38%), photography or video production for artistic purposes (45% vs. 35%), and genealogy or historical research (31% vs. 22%).
People aged 15 to 29 born in Canada, but who have at least one parent who was born outside Canada, are also more likely than those whose parents were both born in Canada to often or sometimes engage in visual arts (63% vs. 49%), writing (50% vs. 40%), music or singing (48% vs. 37%), and photography or video production for artistic purposes (43% vs. 35%).
Video games: a very popular cultural practice, especially among younger people and men
Over 80% of youth aged 15 to 29 play video games, but this proportion decreases with age within this group, from 86% among those aged 15-19 to 74% among those aged 25-29. Video games are also a gendered cultural practice, as 91% of young men play them compared to 70% of women.
The Institut de la statistique du Québec produces, analyzes and disseminates official, objective and quality statistical information on various aspects of Québec society. It is responsible for conducting all statistical surveys of general interest. The relevance of its work makes it a strategic ally for decision makers and an essential source of information for all those wishing to learn more about Québec.