Latest study conducted by YWCA indicates a correlation between the amount of time primary school students spending on electronic devices and their parents' usage, while children plays almost twice as much as their parents during weekends, highlighting a strong parental influence on children's behaviors.

The research, conducted from July to October 2023, involved questionnaire interviews with 773 parents, grandparents and guardians of primary school students. The results show that, apart from educational purposes, children spend an average of four hours on television, mobile phones, tablets, and other electronic devices on weekdays. On holidays, this usage time increases to an average of six hours, exceeding their parents' usage by one to two additional hours. 

Furthermore, the study reveals a huge discrepancy on the electronic devices usage between lower and upper primary school students, with the latter spending significantly more time on electronic devices during holidays, taking up more than one-third of their entire day. These figures are significantly higher than the guidelines recommended by the Department of Health, which suggests that students should not spend more than two hours per day on using electronic devices on entertaining purpose. 

The most common activities for students using electronic devices are "watching online videos" (81.7%) and "playing games" (60.0%). 51.9% of parents believe that their children spend too much time using electronic devices daily, but it cannot be ruled out that this is related to their own habits of device usage. The research found that as the parents' usage time increases, their children's usage time also increases. According to the research data, if parents use electronic devices for one hour per day, their children's usage time doubles, reaching two hours and four minutes.

Regarding monitoring their children's electronic device usage, 85.0% of parents claimed to do so and have provide reminders in advance. However, if their children do not follow, parents tend to execute stricter measures. The most commonly used methods are "confiscating devices" (50.6%), "scolding" (30.3%), and "turning off Wi-Fi" (18.8%). Only a minority use "reminders" (10.6%) or "negotiation" (5.4%). Over half (50.1%) of the surveyed parents reported having experienced parent-child conflicts in the past three months due to issues related to electronic device usage. The study also suggests that conflicts between parents and upper primary school students are more likely to occur compared to lower primary school students.

Mr. Kwok Yi Chung, Chief Officer (Youth and Community Service) of YWCA, believes that the research data demonstrates the significant influence parents' habits on their children. To prevent children from becoming addicted to devices, parents should lead by example and reduce their own device usage, dedicating more time to family activities and strengthening the relationship with children.

He further emphasizes that establishing guidelines for electronic device usage should involve a gradual approach, where parents should negotiate usage time with their children beforehand, listen to their thoughts and opinions, rather than immediately shutting down Wi-Fi or cutting off the power to electronic devices when they observe excessive usage. Instead, parents should focus on communication, setting boundaries, and promoting healthy alternatives to electronic device usage.