About half of teenagers in the United States and in Japan say they can’t put their devices down.

Teens say they are addicted and that their devices cause the greatest conflict between them and parents, according to research at the University of Southern California Annenberg School for Communications and Journalism in Los Angeles.

“Nowadays, one of the worst things that can happen to us is, like, ‘Oh, I left my phone at home,’” said Alissa Caldwell, a student at the American School in Japan.

The study, “The New Normal: Parents, Teens and Digital Devices,” ​polled 1,200 Americans and 1,200 Japanese and was released at the USC Global Conference 2017 in Tokyo.

Their parents agree. A majority of Japanese and American parents said their teenagers used mobile devices too much. About 60 percent of both American and Japanese parents said they believe their children are addicted.

But parents shouldn’t get too comfortable: More than 1 in 3 Japanese parents said they also feel addicted to mobile devices, compared to about 1 in 4 American parents.

Many respond immediately to messages

About 7 in 10 American teens said they felt the need to respond immediately to mobile messages, compared to about half of Japanese teens.

In Japan, 48 percent of teens and 38 percent of parents say they look at and use their devices at least hourly. In the United States, 78 percent of teens and 69 percent of parents say they use their devices every hour.

At least that hourly usage stops when people are asleep, researchers said.

American parents and teens fight over devices more than families in Japan, research showed. One in three U.S. families reported having an argument every day about mobile device use.

Only about 1 in 6 Japanese families say they fight every day over mobile devices. But 20 percent of Japanese teens said they sometimes feel that their parents think their mobile device is more important than they are.

Only 6 percent of American teens feel their parents like their phones more than them. But 15 percent of American parents say their teens’ use of mobile devices hurts their relationship. By comparison, 11 percent of teens felt the same way.

The research was based on April interviews with 600 Japanese parents and 600 Japanese teenagers. Opinions from American parents and teenagers were collected in research done earlier by Common Sense Media.

“Advances in digital media and mobile devices are changing the way we engage not only with the world around us, but also with the people who are the closest to us,” said Willow Bay, Annenberg’s dean, which to some families might seem like a bit of an understatement.

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The Trump administration is opening new investigations into allegations of antisemitism at five U.S. universities including Columbia and the University of California, Berkeley, the Education Department announced Monday.

It's part of President Donald Trump's promise to take a tougher stance against campus antisemitism and deal out harsher penalties than the Biden administration, which settled a flurry of cases with universities in its final weeks. It comes the same day the Justice Department announced a new task force to root out antisemitism on college campuses.

In an order signed last week, Trump called for aggressive action to fight anti-Jewish bias on campuses, including the deportation of foreign students who have participated in pro-Palestinian protests.

Along with Columbia and Berkeley, the department is now investigating the University of Minnesota, Northwestern University and Portland State University. The cases were opened using the department's power to launch its own civil rights reviews, unlike the majority of investigations, which stem from complaints.

Messages seeking comment were left with all five universities.
A statement from the Education Department criticized colleges for tolerating antisemitism after Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel and a wave of pro-Palestinian protests that followed. It also criticized the Biden administration for negotiating "toothless" resolutions that failed to hold schools accountable.

"Today, the Department is putting universities, colleges, and K-12 schools on notice: this administration will not tolerate continued institutional indifference to the wellbeing of Jewish students on American campuses," said Craig Trainor, the agency's acting assistant secretary for civil rights.

The department didn't provide details about the inquiries or how it decided which schools are being targeted. Presidents of Columbia and Northwestern were among those called to testify on Capitol Hill last year as Republicans sought accountability for allegations of antisemitism. The hearings contributed to the resignation of multiple university presidents, including Columbia's Minouche Shafik.

An October report from House Republicans accused Columbia of failing to punish pro-Palestinian students who took over a campus building, and it called Northwestern's negotiations with student protesters a "stunning capitulation."

House Republicans applauded the new investigations. Representative Tim Walberg, chair of the Education and Workforce Committee, said he was "glad that we finally have an administration who is taking action to protect Jewish students."

Trump's order also calls for a full review of antisemitism complaints filed with the Education Department since Oct. 7, 2023, including pending and resolved cases from the Biden administration. It encourages the Justice Department to take action to enforce civil rights laws.

Last week's order drew backlash from civil rights groups who said it violated First Amendment rights that protect political speech.

The new task force announced Monday includes the Justice and Education departments along with Health and Human Services.

"The Department takes seriously our responsibility to eradicate this hatred wherever it is found," said Leo Terrell, assistant attorney general for civil rights. "The Task Force to Combat Anti-Semitism is the first step in giving life to President Trump's renewed commitment to ending anti-Semitism in our schools."

The Times of India breaks down the most popular subjects for international students to study in the U.S.

STEM and business lead the pack. Read the full story here. (January 2025)

U.S. News & World report addresses some of the misconceptions about U.S. colleges and universities, including the difficulty of getting a visa.

Read the full story here. (January 2025)

US News & World Report details the three top factors in foreign students' decision to study in the U.S. They include research opportunities and the reputation of U.S. degrees. Read the full story here. (December 2024)