United States | Generational divide

Younger Americans are friendlier to China

They are much less likely to see the country as an enemy than their parents

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - SEPTEMBER 12: Students wearing masks look at their phones while sitting on a bench in Washington Square Park as the city continues Phase 4 of re-opening following restrictions imposed to slow the spread of coronavirus on September 12, 2020 in New York City. The fourth phase allows outdoor arts and entertainment, sporting events without fans and media production. (Photo by Alexi Rosenfeld/Getty Images) — Image: Getty Images

Mar 23rd 2023|Los Angeles

THE competition between America and China is infiltrating college dorm rooms. Citing national security concerns, at least 29 states have banned TikTok, the video app owned by ByteDance, a Chinese firm, on government devices. Many universities also banned students from using the app on campus wifi. In practice, that means students will use data, not wifi, to watch videos of friends revealing their outfits for sorority recruitment. But young people’s surprise over the TikTok bans may also reveal how differently they view China from their parents.

This article appeared in the United States section of the print edition under the headline “Ageism”