Nearly half of Hong Kong youngsters feel ‘despair’ if they don’t have something to post on Facebook, WhatsApp or Instagram, study suggests
Psychologists say the effects on mental health could be big
Nearly half of Hong Kong youngsters feel “despair” if they do not have anything to post on social media, while a tenth want to break into the ranks of popular online influencers, a first-of-its-kind survey has suggested.
The poll of 2,045 local adolescents, aged between eight and 19, also found that 43 per cent of the young people spent more than three hours a day on social media, with 9 per cent spending at least 10 hours a day.
The poll was conducted in May and June by the Hong Kong Paediatric Society and the Hong Kong Paediatric Foundation. It was said to be the first in the city studying the impact of young people’s use of social media on their mental health.
Some 93 per cent of respondents said they used social media. The top four social media or communication apps were WhatsApp (used by 82 per cent), YouTube (70 per cent), Instagram (61 per cent) and Facebook (48 per cent). On average, each signed up to five social media accounts.
Among the major reasons they gave for being online so much were “having formed a habit” (54 per cent) and “for fear of missing out” (34 per cent). Some 44 per cent claimed they would feel “despair” if they had nothing to post on social media, and 26 per cent said they would be disappointed if their posts did not receive as many “likes” or “positive responses” as they had expected.
