Almost nine out of 10 young people in Hong Kong said they had never voiced their opinions on current affairs in the media, according to a survey by youth group Breakthrough.
The findings have fuelled calls for a revamp in civic education to boost youngsters' participation in public affairs.
In a poll of 1,028 people aged 15 to 29, some 69 per cent said they had never joined any demonstration or signed a petition.
About 88.5 per cent said they had never attempted to voice their opinions on current affairs by writing to the print media or calling radio phone-in programmes.
Also, 90.5 per cent of respondents said they had never aired their views on government policies to related government departments directly.
'Hong Kong's civic education is too conceptual,' said King Chan King-chuen, Breakthrough research and development manager. 'Schools mostly teach abstract concepts but rarely touch on real circumstances, like how to exercise civil rights, including the right to vote, freedom of assembly and the right to protest.'
