6 1.1.5 The cultural and social environment in which millennials grew up has offered them with a unique worldview, and also provided them with innate advantages in embracing the development of technology and innovation. For millennials growing up in the age of booming digital technology, the Internet and social media are as essential as breathing. Studies have pointed out that between 2014 and 2018, more than 90% of young people aged between 10 and 24 have used social media. In 2018, young people aged 15 to 24 spent the longest time using social media among all age groups, with an average of 17.7 hours per week4. Compared with traditional industries, technology and innovation industries are a familiar subject that millennials have been fascinated with and immersed in since they were young. According to studies, young people in Hong Kong are at an inherent advantage in fostering technology and innovation literacy in Hong Kong because they “have international perspective and are able to integrate Chinese and Western cultures. Compared with other developed countries and regions, the students in Hong Kong have outstanding learning abilities, and are among the best worldwide in many learning ability indicators. In addition, the students in Hong Kong are very open-minded in accepting new things and are willing to take the initiative to learn new skills and knowledge.” 5 If young people have no hope for the future, Hong Kong will have no future. Hence, fostering the development of technology and innovation industries is not only to address the problems of Hong Kong’s economic structure, but also the key to allowing Hong Kong’s young people to make best use of their strengths, and create employment, entrepreneurship, and long-term development opportunities for young people, and provide young people with channels for upward mobility, thus solving the problem of upward mobility for young people in Hong Kong. 4 Research Office of the Legislative Council Secretariat, “Social media usage in Hong Kong”, Data Analysis ISSH15/19-20. https://www.legco.gov.hk/research-publications/english/1920issh15-social-media-usage-in-hong-kong-20191212-e.pdf 5 STEAM Education and Research Centre, Lingnan University, a research report on “Cultivating Hong Kong Youths; STEM Literacy”. https://ln.edu.hk/serc/download/STEMLiteracy.pdf 1 The Urgency for Further Developing Hong Kong’s Technology and In novation Industries
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