Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region
Question:
(3) and (4) In response to the above situation, to protect children and young people from potential harm arising from using the internet and social media, various Government bureaux and departments, NGOs and community partners have taken a series of measures to strengthen relevant services and referrals, as well as public education (as detailed in Part (5) of the reply below). Our strategy is to identify and intervene in potential cases at an early stage through cross-sectoral collaboration, thereby minimising the likelihood of them developing into more complex social, family, health and safety issues. The individual cases mentioned in the question, where mental health problems require medical intervention, are already serious; treatment or rehabilitation is more difficult, and the social and personal costs are higher. Therefore, adopting a strategy of early identification and intervention is of paramount importance. Based on the reply above, the factors and impacts of social media are manifold. The development of depression, anxiety, or self-harm behaviours among children and adolescents can be attributed to multiple factors, making it difficult to identify a single cause. Cyberbullying or excessive Internet use may be among the contributing factors. The HA does not maintain statistics on the number of psychiatric patients suffering from conditions such as depression or anxiety that are induced by cyberbullying or Internet addiction.
(5) In addition to parts (3) and (4) of the reply regarding identification, intervention, treatment, and rehabilitation services, the Government attaches great importance to promoting public mental health education, examples of public education and outreach efforts regarding the prevention of Internet addiction among children and adolescents and the coping with cyberbullying trauma are as follows:Note 2: The current data from the SHS Centre of the DH only covers the number of students referred due to psychological and behavioural issues; it does not provide a breakdown by specific reasons for referral (such as Internet addiction or trauma resulting from cyberbullying).
Note 3: With effect from October 1, 2022, the waiting time for new case booking is calculated from the date the booking application is submitted to the scheduled appointment date at SOPC or integrated clinic (whichever is earlier).
Note 4: In view of the COVID-19 epidemic outbreak in Hong Kong in early 2020, the HA has adjusted its services to cope with the outbreak. Therefore, the above situation should also be taken into account when comparing the HA’s service volume across the relevant years. With the subsiding of Hong Kong’s COVID-19 epidemic situation and cessation of anti-epidemic measures in early 2023, the HA has been gradually resuming provision of all of its public healthcare services to tie in with the Government’s normalcy measures.