Singapore pays citizens to read and reduce phone use
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The government of Singapore began a national program this month to pay its citizens for reading books, aiming to combat compulsive internet use, known as doomscrolling, and encourage reading habits.
Officials hope the initiative will improve concentration, critical thinking, and imagination among the population. Melissa Tam, director of the National Library Board of Singapore, explained the program focuses on small, consistent habits, starting with just 15 minutes of daily reading. The program uses a points system.
People log their reading time on a government website and earn virtual coins that they can exchange for money. However, the financial reward is modest. Readers earn 20 coins for 15 minutes of reading, and it takes 1000 coins to receive one Singapore dollar (about US$0.80). This means a person must read for 50 days to earn one Singapore dollar. The new program has sparked debate within Singapore.
Some people question whether the small reward will be more appealing than the instant gratification of social media. Others believe that any effort to promote reading in an age of distraction is worthwhile. Charmaine Lim, a Singapore-based content creator, expressed a preference for seeing people read on public transportation rather than listening to loud social media content.
The government also recently announced financial incentives for families to increase the birth rate in the country, which has one of the lowest fertility rates in the world.
