LettersStart early, connect deeply: addressing Gen Z’s mental health crisis
Readers discuss how Hong Kong should respond to a survey on depression among the youth, and campaigns against sexual harassment for young people
We echo MAIHK’s call for compulsory mental health courses at universities. Just Feel and CUHK lecturer Dr Cho Man-kit have co-created a credit-bearing general education course on compassionate communication offered at Lee Woo Sing College, CUHK. Yet universities alone cannot solve a problem that often begins much earlier. The World Health Organization notes that one in seven adolescents experiences a mental disorder, and half of all such conditions emerge by age 14. Prevention must therefore begin long before university.
This is why family and school connectedness matter so much. Hong Kong’s Education Bureau has highlighted these as among the most critical protective factors for student mental health. Yet the MHAHK survey also found that AI assistants have become the sixth most common help-seeking option, and that those who turn to AI show comparatively higher depression scores. When young people seek connection from algorithms rather than people, it signals that something in our schools and families has fallen short.
Our experience with more than 65 partner schools suggests that isolated lessons are not enough. What makes a difference is a whole-school approach that supports teachers, engages parents and builds a culture where students feel safe to express feelings, build, sustain and repair relationships, and seek help.
A whole-school approach works precisely because it does not leave individual adults to figure it out alone. When teachers and parents are supported to practise these skills in everyday interactions, students experience the co-regulation, consistency and safety they need to grow. Without this foundation, even the most well-meaning adult can inadvertently push young people further away. We risk doing harm with good hearts.