Singapore is paying its citizens to read books for at least 15 minutes a day in an attempt to combat the rise of doomscrolling. The country’s authorities hope that their gamification strategy, launched this month, will improve Singaporeans’ concentration, critical thinking and imagination. The Guardian reports, writes UNN.
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Under the scheme, readers accumulate points that can be exchanged for a few cents. People will have to record 50 daily reading sessions on a government website to earn 1 Singapore dollar (80 cents). A session lasting 15 minutes or more is rewarded with 20 virtual coins, and 1,000 coins are required to receive one dollar. Only one reading session is allowed per day.
The government is considering ways to make social media less harmful to young Singaporeans, including introducing a daily time limit. The latest study showed that doomscrolling and addiction cause the greatest harm to young people.
Singapore’s authorities often use financial incentives in an attempt to influence their citizens’ behavior. Previous healthcare initiatives included supermarket vouchers for walking and prizes for reaching a daily step target.
Despite the government’s concerns about reading, Singapore’s 15-year-olds recently topped the global reading rankings in the 2025 Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), surpassing China and Taiwan.