HuffPost
1 in 2 Black teens experience racism online: What parents should know
In one study, USC Rossier’s Brendesha Tynes found that Black youths experienced more than five discriminatory experiences per day — mostly online racial discrimination.
The Hill
Bad news: COVID-19 numbers are pretty meaningless
Among the problems: With the widespread availability of self-testing, the real number of cases greatly exceeds the number of reported cases, notes Jeffrey Klausner of the Keck School of Medicine of USC.
Axios
Fake online reviews lead shoppers to overpay, new study says
Shoppers who use Amazon more frequently were more likely to be affected by phony ratings, USC Dornsife’s Robert Metcalfe says. You’d expect that more sophisticated participants would be less likely to be duped, but frequent Amazon users shop the platform faster and tend to trust it more, he says.
Los Angeles Times
People trying to get pregnant (or avoid pregnancy) are turning to apps for help — but should they?
Cynthia Sanchez of the USC Suzanne Dworak-Peck School of Social Work tries to discourage her patients from using the apps for pregnancy prevention. She believes they give a false sense of security.
Los Angeles Times
EV demand is so hot that Tesla owners are flipping their cars like houses
“When supply and demand are not in alignment, you get these opportunities where clever people can take advantage,” says USC Marshall’s Larry Harris, former Securities and Exchange Commission chief economist. “We’ve seen this in all kinds of markets.”
Futurity
Depression symptoms spike for teen boys after grandmother’s death
A study co-authored by USC’s Michelle Livings notes that more than 4 million children and adolescents in the United States have lost a grandparent to COVID-19. That’s on top of the 10 million to 12 million kids who typically lose a grandparent each year.
Los Angeles Times
In memoriam: Shinzo Abe, former prime minister of Japan who attended USC
Abe, Japan’s longest-serving prime minister, was shot as he delivered a speech in the western city of Nara.
Los Angeles Times
EV demand is so hot that Tesla owners are flipping their cars like houses
“When supply and demand are not in alignment, you get these opportunities where clever people can take advantage,” says USC Marshall’s Larry Harris, former Securities and Exchange Commission chief economist. “We’ve seen this in all kinds of markets.” (Los Angeles Times)
KCET
Augmented reality experience will bring L.A.’s original Chinatown back to life
A rare collection of photos from the 1930s provides insight into the neighborhood that was torn down for the construction of Union Station.
Futurity
Depression symptoms spike for teen boys after grandmother’s death
A study co-authored by USC’s Michelle Livings notes that more than 4 million children and adolescents in the United States have lost a grandparent to COVID-19. That’s on top of the 10 million to 12 million kids who typically lose a grandparent each year.
Time
Forget physique; mental health is the newest, hottest fitness goal
“People are reporting slightly different motives for wanting to be active,” compared with before the pandemic, says Genevieve Dunton of the Keck School of Medicine of USC. “The reasons are certainly more about stress reduction, anxiety release and improved sleep.”
Inside Higher Ed
Navigating the path from a community college to a prestigious private university
Private universities are increasingly looking to the community college transfer pipeline to broaden access and diversify the student body. For USC President Carol L. Folt — herself a community college transfer student — it’s personal.
CNN
Seniors with long COVID should prepare to go slow
Caitlin Mcauley of the Keck School of Medicine of USC recommends a neuropsychological exam. “Plenty of older patients who’ve had COVID feel like they now have dementia. But when they do the testing, all their higher-level cognitive functioning is intact, and it’s things like attention or cognitive fluency that are impaired,” she says.
Scientific American
Treating Alzheimer’s before it takes hold
Most dementias hit after 65 years of age; all have proved to be stubbornly incurable. But Paul Aisen of USC’s Alzheimer’s Therapeutic Research Institute foresees a future — maybe just a decade or so down the line — in which much of the burden of Alzheimer’s disease might be prevented by screening people from middle age on.
Insider
P.R. experts: Johnny Depp’s career was always going to be fine, but Amber Heard is now forever linked to trial
Depp had a “stronger team in his corner in a lot of different respects,” including public opinion and internet support, says Fred Cook, director of the USC Center for Public Relations. He notes that Heard dropped her P.R. team when the trial prompted backlash and a number of “bad headlines.”
People
Incoming USC freshman makes history as youngest U.S. woman to reach top of Mount Everest
Lucy Westlake, who started climbing mountains with her father when she was just 7 years old, reached the summit early Thursday morning.
The Wall Street Journal
Below the Hollywood sign, a once-private enclave becomes a home-buying hot spot
But Hollywoodland is also a hot spot for tourists, setting the stage for conflict between residents and visitors, notes USC Dornsife’s Leo Braudy. He’s the author of The Hollywood Sign: Fantasy and Reality of an American Icon.
The Guardian
‘Bossware is coming for almost every worker’: The software you might not realize is watching you
It’s not just a privacy issue: Being monitored lowers your sense of perceived autonomy, which can increase stress and anxiety, says USC Marshall Associate Professor Nathanael Fast.
New Humanist
How do we warn future generations about our toxic waste?
Saving our planet may depend on communicating with people 10,000 years from now. USC Dornsife visiting scholar Vincent Ialenti says that the speed at which language evolves will make such communication difficult. The word “internet,” he notes, would mean little to someone living in the 1970s.
Deadline.com
The Batman director Matt Reeves to deliver USC School Of Cinematic Arts commencement address
The USC alum will speak on May 13 at the Shrine Auditorium. Insecure writer-director-EP Prentice Penny will receive its Mary Pickford Alumni Award.
Los Angeles Times
What Elon Musk’s Twitter move says about social media’s political tightrope
“When I look at Twitter, I don’t see a social network, I see an information network,” says USC Annenberg’s Karen North. “It’s a network of people who are communicators, either journalists or people who act like journalists conveying information to their audiences.”
The Associated Press
For Russian diplomats, disinformation is part of the job
Russian embassies around the world are prolifically using Facebook, Twitter and other platforms to undermine the international coalition supporting Ukraine. “They must know better, but that’s what it’s like living in and working for a totalitarian regime,” said Nicholas Cull, a USC professor who studies diplomacy and propaganda.
Slate
Inside L.A.’s housing crisis, from someone who lived it
Trojan Ethan Ward reports on homelessness for KPCC-FM. It’s topic into which he has special insight: Before attending USC or becoming a reporter, he lived in his car.
LAist
California’s largest cities saw significant population decline during 1st full year of COVID
Rising housing costs in Los Angeles County and the Bay Area are chasing away both California natives and immigrants, USC Dornsife Professor Manuel Pastor says.