A survey conducted by the General Association of Chinese Students of Macao (AECM) found that 60 percent of local secondary school students prefer to maintain their interpersonal relationships via online chat.
The association held a press conference at its headquarters on Rua de Manuel de Arriaga (亞利鴉架街) yesterday. AECM Vice President Chu On Kio and AECM Current Affairs Analyst Lin Qiqiang presented the research findings.
The survey was funded by the public Macau Foundation (FM) and conducted in collaboration with the Macau Development Strategy Research Centre.
According to the press conference, the survey aimed to understand local adolescents’ social media usage habits, their practices in shaping online personas and the patterns of online versus offline interactions with different social groups. The survey was carried out from May 15 to June 13, targeting full-time secondary school students in Macau, with a total of 1,094 valid questionnaires collected, according to the press conference.
The findings of the survey indicate that over 60 percent of secondary school students project a more positive “online persona” in digital environments, such as being more expressive and outgoing; about 60 percent prefer online communication as their primary mode of interpersonal interaction; and around 40 percent experience significant emotional fluctuations based on the quality of their online interactions.
In terms of trust, the findings of the survey indicate that around 63 percent of the students covered by the survey place greater confidence in offline friends than their online friends, with over half choosing them as their primary confidants, while less than 10 percent express higher trust in online friends than their “real-life” friends.
The statement said that due to the maturation of social media, secondary schoolers heavily rely on online chat to maintain relationships which shows that compared to face-to-face communication, nearly 60 percent prefer using digital platforms for this purpose. Secondary students’ social interaction patterns are increasingly characterised by information gathering, life updates, and instant communication through online chat, the statement said.
The findings of the survey reveal that around 10 to 20 percent of middle school students describe their online personas as being more expressive, more humorous, more outgoing, more reserved, more confident, and more image-conscious. However, a small proportion of the students admit to adopting more extreme/radical or pessimistic/negative personas in the online world than in the real world.
According to the press conference, all this reflects the complex impact of the internet on adolescents’ self-perception and behaviour – while it provides a positive platform for self-expression, confidence-building, and social expansion, it also carries the risk of triggering negative emotions and behaviours.
During the press conference, the AECM representatives recommended that relevant institutions focus on cultivating critical thinking and information filtering skills among middle school students, fostering healthy online habits and behaviours.
General Association of Chinese Students of Macao (AECM) Vice President Chu On Kio (left) and AECM Current Affairs Analyst Lin Qiqiang pose with the survey’s findings during yesterday’s press conference at its headquarters on Rua de Manuel de Arriaga. – Photo courtesy of TDM
