19th August 2026 – (Hong Kong) One in three Hong Kong kindergarten children now spends at least an hour a day on social media, and more than 80 per cent of family rows are tied to excessive screen use, according to new survey findings released by the Hong Kong Institute of Family Education on 19th August 2026. The results indicate a marked escalation in recreational screen time with age: about 60 per cent of junior secondary students and two‑thirds of senior pupils exceed the commonly cited two‑hour daily cap for leisure use.
The institute reported that 34.7 per cent of kindergarten pupils log a minimum of one hour of recreational screen time daily, running up against public‑health guidance that recommends no more than one hour for children aged two to five. Those benchmarks align with widely referenced recommendations from international health bodies that advise limiting sedentary screen time to about an hour a day for the two‑to‑five age group.
Tik Chi‑yuen, chief executive of the Hong Kong Institute of Family Education, said usage among pre‑schoolers is largely confined to watching videos or keeping in touch with relatives via parents’ accounts. He described the pattern as “not that worrying”, noting that the so‑called “digital dummy” habit—using devices to pacify toddlers—appeared uncommon among respondents. Most clashes at this stage, he added, arise when parents ask children to switch off and the youngsters resist. Public records and institutional profiles list Mr Tik as the institute’s chief executive.
The survey’s snapshot of secondary‑school behaviour reflects a sharp rise in recreational viewing and scrolling as children grow older, pushing many beyond the two‑hour threshold commonly used by clinicians and educators to encourage balance with sleep, study and physical activity. That ceiling is consistent with international advice for older children and adolescents, even as experts stress that quality, context and parental engagement matter as much as quantity.