EditorialWorrying phone habits call for refreshed guidelines in Hong Kong

A new survey underlines the need for parents, educators and authorities to set more appropriate boundaries on screen time for children

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Children dressed up as Ne Zha are engrossed by a video on a smartphone as they have dim sum in a restaurant in Tsuen Wan on July 22. Photo: Nora Tam

Published: 6:45am, 26 Oct 2025

Digital device access for children is proving difficult to manage in a world where many adults themselves struggle to balance the benefits and risks of screen time. This is among the troubling results of a Hong Kong non-profit group’s new survey that underscores how parents, educators and authorities must work together to set more appropriate boundaries.

The research released on October 19 by Look Up Hong Kong offers support for the group’s push for parents to wait until children turn 14 before giving them smartphones and until 16 before they get access to social media. Fifty-two per cent of parents said their children between the ages of six and 10 had a smartphone. Most got their first device when they were just nine years old, even though parents on average felt the age of 13 was more appropriate.

The same parents had worrying relationships with their own devices. More than three-quarters said they could not live without their smartphone and 67 per cent reported related physical health problems.

The online poll, conducted in July by multinational research firm Ipsos, was released amid widening concern about the issue. City leader John Lee Ka-chiu said in his latest policy address that the authorities are reviewing screen time guidelines as part of measures to combat youth mental health problems. The problem is global, and many communities are responding with tougher steps. From December, a new Australian law will prohibit children under the age of 16 from holding social media accounts on certain popular platforms. Britain is considering social media time limits for young people. Mainland China restricts digital gaming.

Hong Kong’s government has wisely argued that an outright ban is not feasible and could deprive young people of valuable ways of connecting with the world and learning. However, at a time of advancing technology, including artificial intelligence, public habits support the need to review guidelines which have not been updated in seven years. Making the advice practical and flexible enough to be embraced and applied in homes and schools will be a challenge, but worth the effort if it better protects children.

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}A new survey underlines the need for parents, educators and authorities to set more appropriate boundaries on screen time for children

A new survey underlines the need for parents, educators and authorities to set more appropriate boundaries on screen time for children