Happiness index for Hong Kong students hits 7-year high, ‘thanks to less social unrest, more free time amid Covid-19 pandemic’

Researcher attributes the higher scores to less ‘violence on TV screens’ after 2019’s social unrest, and less time spent commuting amid the pandemic

Despite the gains in happiness, the so-called life education index, which measures students’ participation in character-building activities, dropped

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Kids spend time at a play space in Tsuen Wan on Tuesday. Researchers say an increase in leisure time may have contributed more happiness among students. Photo: Winson Wong

Published: 8:40pm, 31 Aug 2021Updated: 11:22pm, 31 Aug 2021

An index measuring the happiness of Hong Kong’s students has reached a seven-year high, with researchers attributing the surge to a decline in social unrest and increased leisure time for young people amid the Covid-19 pandemic.

According to the latest Hong Kong Children Happiness Index, released on Tuesday by Lingnan University and non-profit group HK.WeCARE, students from Primary Four to Form Three have an average rating of 6.85 out of 10, up from 6.81 in 2018-19.

The annual survey, conducted since 2012, was suspended last year due to the pandemic. The highest score recorded was 7.23 in 2013-14. That mark plunged to 6.74 in 2014-15 when the Occupy movement occurred, and hit rock bottom at 6.52 the following year.

The university’s Pan Sutong Shanghai-HK Economic Policy Research Institute director Ho Lok-sang, who conducted the study, attributed this year’s higher index to diminished social unrest, which had rocked the city for months in 2019.

Citing a return to normalcy, Ho said: “We don’t see so much violence on TV screens … The fact that we came back to social order, I think that’s an important factor.”

He added that children might have become happier with more leisure time as they could attend online lessons at home during the pandemic.

“The fact is that they don’t need to spend so much time commuting,” he added.

The study collected responses from 1,591 primary pupils and 1,111 secondary students from 23 local public and private schools, as well as 197 teachers, from February to April this year.