Younger people in Hong Kong are the most unhappy in Asia, according to a survey by international media research agency Optimum Media Direction.
Only five percent of young people surveyed in Hong Kong said they felt happy, in stark contrast with younger people elsewhere in the region, the survey showed.
More than half of the young people in Taiwan and China thought they were cheerful while over 70 percent of those polled felt that way in Singapore, India, Malaysia, Thailand and Philippines.
Young people in the Philippines are the most content, with 78 percent saying they were happy.
The survey, sponsored by broadcasters and media firms Channel [V], STAR TV, Twentieth Century Fox and French magazine publisher Hachett Filipacchi Asia Pacific, polled some 4,400 youths aged 15 to 29.
The research did not spell out why younger people in Hong Kong felt so glum, but 47 percent of the 504 respondents in the territory said they considered themselves either "a bit fat" or "too fat."
This compares with 46 percent in Taiwan which came in second and 41 percent in Singapore. Only 15 percent of young people in India felt uneasy about their weight.
Younger people in Hong Kong also were found to be more rebellious than most others in the region.
Fifty-two percent of the Hong Kong respondents said they thought one night stands were acceptable, second only to Singapore, where despite its strait-laced reputation 58 percent of respondents agreed with casual sex.
India and Malaysia were found to be the most conservative with only 19 and 25 percent of those interviewed agreeing that one-night stands were acceptable.
Taiwanese and Hong Kong youths are the biggest drinkers with 83 percent regularly drinking alcohol, followed by Singaporeans with 79 percent and Filipinos with 74 percent. By contrast, 21 percent of young people in India drink.
Hong Kong youths were also found to hold the most liberal views on drug-taking, with 34 percent of those polled saying that they do not mind friends using drugs.
In second place was Thailand where 30 percent of respondents found drug-taking acceptable. This was followed by Taiwan at 25 percent and India at 24 percent.
Sixty-four percent of respondents in the territory said they considered safe sex to be "in."
Thailand was the most aware in this area with 90 percent of respondents agreeing with the statement, followed by 75 percent in Taiwan and 68 percent in Singapore.
Indians, however, spend more free time watching television with 62 percent rating it their top pastime, compared to 58 percent in Thailand and 35 percent in China.
The survey did not ask young Asians about their sexual habits.
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