IS OUR ‘NATURE DEFICIT’ AT A TIPPING POINT? NEW REPORT REVEALS DISCONNECT FROM THE NATURAL WORLD
The Nature Rating tool by Super, Natural British Columbia
The Nature Rating tool by Super, Natural British Columbia
The Nature Rating tool by Super, Natural British Columbia
The ‘Nature Report,’ which surveyed 2,000 adults in the US, uncovers a complex relationship with the natural world. While Gen Z reports a stronger desire to escape their screens, they are also the generation spending the least amount of time in nature. The findings show that while younger generations spend significantly less time outside than previous generations did.
The Nature Rating, a first-of-its-kind free digital tool, analyzes how much nature is present in the media people engage with to help them assess and improve their nature deficit. This is based on the psychological principle that the more you experience nature through culture, the more you’ll seek it out in real life.
Key Findings from The Nature Report:
The Generational Nature Gap: The report reveals a stark generational divide in nature engagement. While 42% of Americans generally feel their generation is more connected to nature than previous generations, this sentiment varies across age groups. Boomers and Gen X are most likely to spend significant time outside, Gen Z, despite being more vocal about environmental issues, lags behind, with 26% of Americans generally feeling their generation is less connected to nature.
• While 67% of Gen Z report being inspired by media and pop culture to spend more time outside, they average just under 49 minutes of outdoor time on weekdays with Gen X clocking in at 65 minutes. This is mostly just to commute to work.
• This is a 25% decrease compared to what Gen X reported, even as Gen Z leads the charge in consuming nature-themed content online.
• Nearly two-thirds of Gen Z (67%) admit they can go days without stepping outside, pointing to a growing disconnect with nature.
Parental Concerns for the Next Generation A significant portion of parents are worried about their children’s relationship with nature.
• Half of parents (50%) say their children spend more time outdoors than they did at the same age, but 25% still believe their children spend less time outside than they did at that age, and 26% still want them to spend even more time outside.
• About 19% of parents are concerned their children aren’t engaging with nature enough, with the average child spending just 56.17 minutes in unstructured play or nature per day.
• Parents cite increased screen time (36%), busy family schedules (32%), and weather (25%) as the biggest reasons their children might spend less time outside.
The Urban-Rural Divide Where people live has a direct impact on their nature engagement, with city dwellers facing the biggest deficit.
• 67% of city residents say they can go days without stepping outside. Many cite bad weather (25%), not having enough hours in the day (16%), boredom (16%) or disliking being alone (17%) as reasons for staying indoors.
“The benefits of spending time in nature are widely known, but modern life can make it difficult, with our research showing that we’re becoming more disconnected from nature with each generation,” said Maya Lange, Vice President, Global Marketing for Super, Natural British Columbia. “While there’s no single solution to inspiring people to improve their relationship with nature, encountering the wonder of it through the content they watch and enjoy can spark a genuine desire to seek nature out in real life. The Nature Rating is designed to help people take a first step - assessing nature in content they consume can inspire people to go outside and foster a stronger connection to the natural world.”
The Link Between Consuming Nature Content and Engaging with Nature
The report also highlights a crucial insight: consuming media with the presence of nature inspires real-world action.
• A significant majority (67%) of people said that seeing the natural world on their screens directly inspires them to want to experience nature themselves. This inspiration primarily stems from social media (36%), YouTube/Reels (35%), and TV shows (32%) being the most influential. Top TV/movie influences include Yellowstone (21%), Our Planet (16%), and Survivor (14%).
“Our research published in Perspectives on Psychological Science found that references to nature in songs, books, and films have been on a steady decline since the 1950s. This is symptomatic of a larger societal issue, as there is a strong link between what we consume and how we behave.” said Social Psychologist Dr. Pelin Kesebir. “Art, media, and culture both reflect and shape our lived experiences, so the nature deficit in the content we consume signals a broader and concerning disconnect from the natural world. That’s why tools that encourage a healthier ‘nature diet’ in our media can be a powerful catalyst for inspiring real-world nature engagement.”
The Solution: Introducing The Nature Rating
To help bridge this gap, Super, Natural British Columbia has launched The Nature Rating, a free resource available to everyone.
• How it Works: The Nature Rating uses a sophisticated model combining artificial intelligence (AI) and natural language processing to analyze the nature content in media titles (films, shows, books, songs) against a list of over 270 nature-related keywords. By cross-referencing data from multiple open-source databases, it analyzes the themes, plots and lyrical content to assign a Nature Rating score out of 10.
• Inspiring Action: Based on the rating given for a title, it recommends other highly rated media, as well as simple, actionable ways to find nature nearby, improve your nature deficit and let the outside in.
Today’s media features less nature than ever, a trend made quantifiable by The Nature Rating. Award-winning films and chart-topping music from the last 50 years reveals a clear and steady decline in nature-related themes.
-ENDS-
Notes to editors:
Based on research conducted for Super, Natural British Columbia by OnePoll.com between August 22 -27, 2025, among nationally representative samples of 2,000 UK adults and 2,000 US adults.
Sling & Stone
Super, Natural British Columbia
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