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The New Normal: Parents, Teens, and Mobile Devices

Photo of two people standing next to eachother using mobile phones

The New Normal: Parents, Teens, and Mobile Devices Around the World

Mobile devices are rewiring daily life for teens and their parents. The New Normal: Parents, Teens, and Mobile Devices Around the World is a comparative global mapping project designed to advance cross-cultural exploration of family digital media engagement. In partnership with Common Sense, the project compares survey findings from the United States, Japan, the United Kingdom and Mexico.
Photos by Sergio Negrete.

Overview

The New Normal

Photo of two people looking at a smartphone

The New Normal: Parents, Teens, and Mobile Devices in Mexico

Latest study on impact of mobile devices on parents and teens expands from the U.S., Japan and U.K. to include Mexico.

To gain further insight into global trends among teens and parents, USC Annenberg and Common Sense selected Mexico as the latest focus of The New Normal: Parents, Teens, and Mobile Devices Around the World. Mexico is the first Spanish-speaking country in this series; general results were compared with those obtained in previous years in the U.S., Japan and the U.K. To view the report, toplines, and a comparison of data across all of the reports, click the link below.

Read the report

Parents, teens, and mobile devices around the world

52% %
of U.S. teens feel they and their parents spend “too much time” on mobile devices
61% %
of Japanese parents feel their teens are “addicted” to their mobile devices
72% %
of U.K. parents feel their teens get distracted by their mobile devices at least once per day
76% %
of Mexican parents say they have family rules regarding mobile device use

Meet the collaborators

USC Annenberg

Willow Bay, Dean
Tina Vennegaard, Director, Strategic Programs and Initiatives

Common Sense

James P. Steyer, Founder and CEO
Michael B. Robb, Senior Director of Research

London School of Economics

Sonia Livingstone, Professor of Social Psychology, Department of Media Communications

Universidad Iberoamericana

Dr. Manuel Alejandro Guerrero, Director, Department of Communication
Dra. Fidele Vlavo Ablavi

Media highlights

Photo of two people using mobile phones next to eachother

New study reveals more teens in Mexico feel ‘addicted’ to their mobile devices than teens in other countries surveyed

Photo of Sonia Livingstone, Jim Steyer, and Dean Willow Bay in London to discuss the results of The New Normal report.

U.K. parents and teens talk mobile device use

Photo from the USC Global Conference 2017

Use of digital devices affects family relationships

Televisa (Mexico)
Willow Bay and James Steyer discuss new study of teens' and parents' mobile device use in Mexico
October 2, 2019

Televisa (Mexico) interviewed USC Annenberg Dean Willow Bay and Common Sense CEO James Steyer about their new study, The New Normal: Parents, Teens, and Mobile Devices in Mexico. (Interview starts at 16:17.)
Forbes Mexico
USC and Common Sense study mobile device use by parents and teens in Mexico
October 1, 2019

Forbes Mexico covered the release of The New Normal: Parents, Teens, and Mobile Devices in Mexico, the latest entry in a global mapping project led by USC Annenberg Dean Willow Bay and Common Sense CEO James Steyer.
Voice of America
Teens in US and Japan Admit to Phone Addiction
October 4, 2017

VOA’s Student Union quoted Dean Willow Bay on the changing landscape of mobile device use.
BBC Radio 4
Interview with Willow Bay
October 1, 2018

Host Mishal Husain interviews Dean Willow Bay about how parents and their teens both believe the other is “addicted” to their mobile devices.