(From left) Moderator of the seminar, Mr. Ho Chung-yan, David, with speakers Prof Cheung Yeut-wah, Mr Chan Wai-leung, Mr Ho Hon-kuen and Ms Morle Pang

In November, HKU SPACE held a seminar entitled “What’s up with teens in their leisure time?” at HKPCC in collaboration with the Society for the Aid and Rehabilitation of Drug Abusers (SARDA), and Community Health Organisation for Intervention, Care and Empowerment (CHOICE), in an effort to help teachers and parents understand what teenagers need by looking into their leisure time activities. The seminar attracted over 100 attendees including teachers, social workers, professionals in related fields, parents and students.

Moderator of the seminar was Mr. Ho Chung-yan, David, Senior Journalist. Speakers at the seminar included Prof Cheung Yeut-wah, Chairman of the Research Committee of SARDA, Mr Chan Wai-leung, Social Work Supervisior of Caritas Hong Kong, and Mr Ho Hon-kuen, Vice-chairman of Education Convergence and Ms Morle Pang, a teen radio programme DJ. The covered topics ranged from the problems of “leisurisation” and “bad habitisation” of drug use to teens’ online behaviour and an investigation into students’ leisure time activities. The findings of a survey taken this September and October were also announced.

The survey revealed that most teenagers have between half a day to more than a day of leisure time every week – a positive sign given their tight study schedule.

In terms of the most popular leisure activities, male students preferred surfing the Internet, playing video games and listening to music, while female students surfed the Internet, listened to music, and reading. As Internet use tops the chart for males and females alike, online teen behaviour is an issue worth looking at. And since most teenagers surf the Internet at night and some even stay up late online, it may also lead to sleep deprivation. Additionally, too much quiet time spent online may cut into sports and physical activities, which is another cause for concern. It was also revealed that over half of the surveyed teenagers choose to spend their leisure time with friends, which might signal that they are pulling away from their families, another issue we need to tackle.

The event was a great success, thanks to the support and sponsorship of the Narcotics Division, Security Bureau. HKU Space, SARDA and CHOICE regularly offer education in drug abuse prevention to teachers at primary and secondary schools on Hong Kong Island and the Outlying Islands, to help them identify, evaluate and appropriately intervene in various situations. For more details, please click here.