Opinion | Hong Kong needs to tackle its screen addiction problem

Anyone who believes Hong Kong does not have a serious screen addiction problem just isn’t paying attention. According to research by the NGO Look Up Hong Kong, more than half of our children aged 6-10 years already own a smartphone. The figure rises to 98 per cent for those aged 14 and above. A 2023 survey by the Hong Kong Young Women’s Christian Association found that children spend an average of 32 hours per week on electronic devices for leisure.

The Look Up Hong Kong survey found that parents are struggling with smartphone addiction too: more than three-quarters of them said they could not live without their smartphone. According to a report in The Economist this month, many seniors are also picking up the habit, adding time on mobile devices to their traditional practice of being avid television viewers.

Just look around the next time you’re on the MTR. In the row of six seats opposite, the chances are that at least five will be occupied by people scanning their phones. Many standing passengers will also be holding on for balance with one hand while clutching their phone with the other. We must all have seen engrossed passengers spring to their feet and rush out of the door at the last minute, having nearly missed their stop.

Alongside the spread of mobile devices has been the extraordinary growth of social media. For my generation, it is LinkedIn for professional profile, Facebook for social ties and WhatsApp for easy communication (WeChat on the mainland), with Twitter (now X) lurking in the background. For youngsters, it is Instagram and (overseas) TikTok as well as WhatsApp, plus YouTube. Some continue with Facebook but partly to monitor older family members.

A 2022 Save the Children Hong Kong report noted that 93 per cent of secondary school students here have their own profile on social media or a gaming platform. Our strict lockdown policies during the Covid-19 pandemic undoubtedly widened social media access and boosted device use.

The consequences of this combination of ubiquitous device ownership and popular social media have been well documented, particularly among the young. Health issues are a major concern. Sleep deprivation is thought to be common. A 2010 study found that some 50 per cent of primary school pupils reported eyestrain from the use of electronic devices. About 40 per cent have myopia by the age of eight. Fewer than 10 per cent of young people get the recommended hour of physical exercise each day.

A girl attends an online physical education class at her home in Tai Koo during the Covid-19 pandemic in March 2020. Photo: Xiaomei Chen

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