Warning over screen time and chatbots as number of depressed hits record high

2026-03-05 - 12:45

One in three Hong Kong adults have moderate to severe symptoms of depression, almost triple the rate from 2012, with Generation Z respondents who spent a lot of time on screens affected the most, a survey has found. The biennial study, conducted by the Mental Health Association NGO and the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK), also found that 22 per cent of the 2,700 adult respondents turned to AI chatbots to manage their stress, which experts on Thursday described as “risky” as this could...