Anecdotal evidence suggests that many youngsters in tech-savvy Hong Kong are more proficient at interacting with electronic gadgets than they are at communicating with their fellow human beings. One aspect of this was highlighted recently in the South China Morning Post ('Alarm over child speech development', City, April 30).
It was reported that 1,878 cases of communication disorder were being handled by the Hong Kong Speech and Swallowing Therapy Centre. It said one cause was parents being 'too busy to talk to their own children', resulting in them not developing speaking skills well. This is one part of a much bigger and rather troubling picture.