Social media, all but non-existent at the time of handover 15 years ago, has since evolved into a powerful loudspeaker for the city's internet users.
It has allowed Hongkongers' long-held passions for everything from food to activism to flourish.
Last Sunday's July 1 march, for instance, was partly galvanised by social media. It saw tens of thousands of Hongkongers voice their discontent with the government on the anniversary of the city's return to China. The strong turnout - especially among the youths - was partly the result of the organising capacity that social media affords an increasingly web-savvy community, regardless of age or social status.
'People were very politically aware in 1997, but they didn't know how to share it,' said Napoleon Biggs, a social media commentator who first came Hong Kong in 1993. 'You've always had people who have been frustrated, angry, dissatisfied.
'What Facebook, Twitter, and [Sina] Weibo do is rally people and get them to go on the streets,' he said. 'Imagine if we knew the conversations that were happening in 1997.'
Today, 87 per cent of local households have a broadband internet connection, up from 28.6 per cent in 2002, government statistics show.