According to a territory-wide survey conducted by the Hong Kong Federation of Youth Groups higher proportion of young people interviewed (55%) said that their experiences of happiness outweighed their experiences of unhappiness, particularly respondents of school age.  In respondents' opinions, the prime source of subjective happiness is health, followed by having a harmonious family.  Having very good friends or having a desired job have been ranked immediately following.  Getting married or developing a relationship with the loved one is on the fifth place.   However, wealth and the pursuit for material possessions are not the main concerns, according to the poll results.   

The survey listed 16 factors and invited respondents to rate each of them on a scale of 0 to 10 in accordance with their importance in facilitating happiness.    In terms of an average scoring, wealth ranked tenth.  Owning a car or property, establishing one's own family and having children, considerations that have long been the traditional emphasis within the local society, have been placed at the bottom of the list.   

Of the various potential situations in daily life, more than 70% of the respondents claimed that they generally could feel happy by helping people in need.  Another 70% correspondingly said that they could feel happy by helping friends to solve problems, or learning that their beloved was happy.   Some 50% to 60% claimed that they could feel happy by learning that someone was willing to listen to them, that someone was expressing love to them, or that someone was praising them.   There was no statistically significant difference between respondents' age, education attainment, occupational backgrounds, religious belief, sex, or affiliation to parties and their responses to these situations.  

Earlier, a publicized survey found that young people in Hong Kong were the least happy group, when compared with their counterparts in other places in Asia.  The Hong Kong Federation of Youth Groups, therefore, conducted a survey from 12 to 14 March 2001, to see whether young people could make themselves happier.  A total of 531 young people aged between 15 and 29 were successfully interviewed.  A massive 85% of respondents agreed that happiness depended on one's character, while another 70% revealed that they were optimistic by nature, particularly respondents at a younger age.   

In response, the Federation said that the findings brought to light a new trend among young people, who don't seem to be concerned with building their personal happiness through accumulation of wealth.  This is quite different from what the traditional view suggests, that happiness is directly linked to wealth.   In view of the fact that the potential situations in which young people could feel happy and fulfilled are relatively easy to create and at no cost, the Federation encourages young people, youth workers, teachers and parents to take advantage of these situations in order to bring happiness to the people  in their proximity.  

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