An NGO said on Monday that some adolescents could be suffering from social anxiety now that they don't have to wear face masks.

Evangelical Lutheran Church Social Service said it recently polled more than 2,500 primary and secondary school students about their mask-wearing habits before and after the pandemic.

It said 80 percent of respondents had continued to wear masks after the mask mandate was dropped in March, with some saying they felt self conscious about their appearance and had trouble socialising.

The group’s assistant chief executive, Keswick Chuk, said it is important to provide a healthy and supportive environment for young people to overcome their fears.

“Actually it's turning a new page from the post-pandemic era. For the youth, it's not easy for them to adapt to the pressure in just a day and night,” Chuk said.

Hairo Wan, the principal of ELCHK Yuen Long Lutheran Secondary School, said schools and social workers need to work together to address the problem.

“We need to understand their feelings… we need the social workers to help and actually pay serious attention to the students… focus more on their body language, their eyes, and their response outside the classrooms,” he said.

He said his school has been organising a range of activities to help students develop their social skills and improve peer relationships.