This is different to how I use English.

I've been noticing lately a creeping in of a prepositional use in American English that I used to think was available only to British English speakers.

The construction is comparative 'different to', where I am accustomed to 'different from' or 'different than'.

For example, a recent publication featured in Science Daily was titled:

"Looking different to your parents can be an evolutionary advantage, at least in plants"

Similarly, an online article about gaming was headlined:

"What makes N++ different to other platformers?"

I think I'd have to say these sentences differently (as do some commenters on the gaming article site):

• "Looking different from your parents ...." or
• "What makes N++  different than other platformers ..."

Note, of course, that there are lots of other uses of 'different' where 'different to' is used - but it's not the comparative construction.  In these cases the 'to' is really connected with the following phrase, it's not part of the comparative.

For example:

• She looked different to her parents than she looked to strangers. ('to her parents' = from their point of view)
• The new employee brought something different to her first day on the job. ('to' = a locative, denoting the location where that 'something different' was deposited.

Right?  Or no?  Apparently, the 'different to' comparative is becoming more common in American English - or at least the Oxford Dictionaries bloggers say so.  But they also say that 'different than' has been considered incorrect by some in the past...

...really?  That's different than I would have imagined.

Young people?  Do you hear 'different to' as a weird construction in these contexts?  Is your grammar different to mine in this way?