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Tag - teens

 
 

TEENS

Data from NTT Docomo¡¯s Mobile Society Research Institute released in June found that 55% of respondents across all age groups said they fiddled with their phones when they had nothing to do, even when another person was in front of them.
JAPAN / FOCUS
Aug 8, 2026
As countries ban social media for children, Japan mulls a different approach
A sociology professor warns a blanket ban could push children toward less visible online spaces or encourage them to lie about their age, making exploitation harder to detect.
The Sapporo District Court on Friday handed down a life imprisonment to a 19-year-old man who led a fatal group assault.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Aug 7, 2026
Teen sentenced to life in prison over leading role in fatal 2024 Hokkaido group assault
Prosecutors sought the sentence for Yuto Kawaguchi, 19, arguing he should bear the greatest responsibility for leading the assault on 20-year-old university student Tomoya Hase.
Attendees at a conference in Mumbai in September 2023. More than 30 U.S. states are suing Meta over allegations related to alleged harms to children and mental health.
BUSINESS
Aug 7, 2026
Meta ordered to pay U.S. state $567 million over ¡®public nuisance¡¯ and child harm
Around three-quarters of the new $567 million fund is set to be used for mental health treatment, with the funds to be paid over five years.
The U.K. government said its social media plan is inspired by Australia's under-16 social media ban, which was introduced in December.
WORLD
Aug 7, 2026
Most U.K. teens to opt out of planned social media curfew, poll finds
Most teenagers would opt out of a U.K. government plan to impose social media curfews between midnight and 6 a.m. on older teenagers, according to a poll.
Around half of Australian children who retained their social media accounts after a ban for users under the age of 16 said platforms had not checked their age.
ASIA PACIFIC
Jul 31, 2026
Most Australian teens still on social media three months after under-16 ban began, study finds
In a recent study, eSafety found most children between the ages of?10 and 15 were using social media as frequently in March as ?they had ?before the ban.
Saba Rabah, the top-ranked student in the science stream of the Palestinian national high school exams, celebrates with family at the Al Maghazi camp for Palestinian refugees in the central Gaza Strip on Sunday.
WORLD / Society
Jul 27, 2026
Gaza teen triumphs in school despite war, loss and displacement
Saba Rabah, 18, emerged as the top-ranked student in the science stream of the Palestinian national high school exams.
French President Emmanuel Macron gestures during a joint press conference in Bruehl, Germany, on July 17.
WORLD / Politics
Jul 22, 2026
France passes bill to ban social media for children under 15
The move could risk straining relations with U.S. tech companies and President Donald Trump.
Britain¡¯s patchwork of age limits for adult rights and responsibilities highlights the difficulty of defining maturity, with the voting age debate testing whether 16-year-olds are ready for such civic responsibility.
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 20, 2026
British teens have yet another reason for pity
One recent survey found only 48% of 16- and 17-year-olds felt getting the vote at their age was a ¡°good idea.¡±
Australia, Britain, China, India and the United States have already imposed a ?social media ban for children, or are considering one, which would mainly target TikTok, YouTube, Instagram and Facebook.
WORLD / Politics
Jul 14, 2026
Children¡¯s social media curbs planned across EU, von der Leyen says
The move would be the biggest such ?effort to date to guard against online dangers.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese (center) meets with advocates for the country's social media ban for children under 16 at Parliament House in Canberra on Monday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jun 29, 2026
Australia gives regulator more power to pursue Big Tech over under-16 social media ban
The move ?comes as evidence suggests children are still able to access the platforms six months ?after the ?world-first restrictions took effect in December.
Siranudh "Psi" Scott, a fourth-generation member of the billionaire Thai family that founded the Singha beer brand, in Bangkok on May 24
ASIA PACIFIC / Crime & Legal
Jun 29, 2026
Thai beer dynasty feud casts spotlight on ¡®ungrateful child¡¯ law
The law enables parents to revoke gifts if their offspring are deemed ungrateful, physically abusive, neglectful in old age or responsible for serious reputational harm.
A former college student was sentenced to 30 years in prison in connection with a case in which a 20-year-old man was beaten to death by six people at a park Hokkaido in 2024.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Jun 26, 2026
Three youths jailed over fatal assault of college student in Hokkaido
The case involved a 20-year-old student being beaten to death by six people in a park in 2024.
There is little evidence to suggest teenagers have turned away from social media under the law, a team of Australia-based researchers has found in a peer-reviewed study published by the British Medical Journal.
ASIA PACIFIC
Jun 25, 2026
Australia¡¯s social media ban for under 16s having little impact, study shows
Underage users have been dodging the restrictions by using accounts registered to older people, setting up fake accounts, or by logging into private browsers.
Flowers laid near Kamui bridge, the scene of a 17-year-old high school girl's death, in Asahikawa, Hokkaido, June 2024
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Jun 22, 2026
Woman sentenced to 27 years over death of high school girl
Prosecutors had sought 27 years, arguing the ¡°extremely cruel and malicious¡± crime the woman had been the ringleader of had ¡°trampled on the victim¡¯s dignity.¡±
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer has announced one of the strictest online crackdowns against social media use by children in the democratic world on Monday.
WORLD / Politics
Jun 15, 2026
British prime minister announces full ban on social media for children under 16
The Labour government says its new range of child internet-use restrictions will be tougher than Australia¡¯s limits.
The members of TV Tairiku Ondo ¡ª (from left) Harea Togari, Ryuji Chiyotani, Kotaro Suzuki and Hiroto Yanagawa ¡ª met as high school students in Sapporo and went viral in 2024 with an energetic 90-second track.
CULTURE / Music
Jun 12, 2026
TV Tairiku Ondo channels the chaotic creativity of youth
After going viral with a 90-second track in 2024, the rock quartet from Hokkaido has been hitting stages big and small and working hard on a debut album.
Âé¶¹´«Ã½ real challenge in the age of artificial intelligence is not technological progress but rebuilding the trust and human connections that help young people feel heard, supported and safe.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jun 12, 2026
Âé¶¹´«Ã½ real AI problem is not technology. It is trust.
People who feel they matter are more likely to seek help when they need it because they trust that someone will listen. People who feel invisible often remain silent.
A group of high school students arrested over allegedly trying to extort money from a boy in western Tokyo may have used ChatGPT to decide how much to demand, police said.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Jun 11, 2026
Teenagers in Tokyo allegedly used ChatGPT to decide extortion amount in assault case
Five teenagers were arrested in January over the alleged assault and attempted extortion of ?150,000 from a high school student in the city of Hachioji.
Several countries have been considering ?tightening rules around AI use as well as social media use for children.
WORLD
Jun 11, 2026
Canada moves to ban social media for children under 16 and regulate AI chatbots
Companies could face penalties of 3% ?of global revenue or up to C$10 million ($7.2 million), whichever is more, for failing to comply.
Nara police have arrested a self-proclaimed "messenger of God" and six others over the confinement of a company executive's teenage son at a relative's house in Yokohama.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Jun 10, 2026
¡®Messenger of God¡¯ and six others arrested over teen¡¯s confinement
The seven people, including a company executive, allegedly confined the executive¡¯s teenage son to a relative¡¯s house in Yokohama between May 6 and 8.

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