What if you could earn money simply by picking up a book and reading for 15 minutes a day? Singapore is giving its citizens a reason to swap some of their doomscrolling time for reading, with a new government-backed initiative that rewards them for logging their reading minutes.
The city-state launched the ReadSG campaign, a five-year national programme aimed at nurturing reading habits. Introduced by the country’s National Library Board (NLB) earlier this month.
A recent study identified doomscrolling and addiction among the major social media-related harms affecting young people in Singapore, The Guardian reported. The NLB has said new features and enhancements will be introduced based on participant feedback. The idea is straightforward: read a little every day, track your progress on a government website and collect rewards along the way. The initiative comes amid concerns about shrinking attention spans and the growing popularity of short-form digital content. She added: “Ultimately, we want to see a nation of readers who are curious, thoughtful, discerning and equipped to navigate an increasingly complex world. Participants can log their reading sessions online and earn virtual coins, which can eventually be converted into small cash rewards. So, while the programme isn’t going to make anyone rich, it does offer a little financial motivation to pick up a book. That is about the time between three MRT stops, waiting for your bus, or enjoying your morning coffee. Small moments add up to big stories. The campaign’s focus on short, manageable reading sessions is aimed at making the habit easier to build. Officials are using gamification, a system of tracking progress and earning rewards, to encourage regular participation. She also pointed to a change in how people consume written content, particularly online. “What has happened is that many people still do read when you talk about reading words on a screen. But the kind of deep reading, spending time and being committed to reading may occur less often. The reading campaign is not the Singapore government’s first attempt to use financial incentives to encourage behavioural change. Previous health-focused initiatives have included – supermarket vouchers for participating in walking trails and prizes for meeting daily step targets. ReadSG’s programme is currently in a pilot phase that will run until the end of the year. The Singapore’s reading scores are already among the world’s best. Singapore is not the only Asian country exploring ways to strengthen its reading culture. In South Korea, parks and areas near rivers are transformed into reading spaces during favourable weather, giving people opportunities to read outdoors. In Japan, books are commonly available in everyday settings such as cafes and trains, making reading more accessible during daily routines. researchers have raised questions about whether rewards can help sustain it in the long run While financial incentives can encourage people to start a habit.
Singapore’s 2024 National Reading Habits Study identified a broader shift towards content that is short and easy to skim, rather than the sustained reading that requires deeper concentration. The campaign encourages citizens to begin with just 15 minutes of reading a day. Here’s how the system works: It takes 50 days of reading to earn SG$1, assuming participants complete one qualifying session every day. The campaign’s website presents 15 minutes as an achievable starting point, saying: “All it takes is 15 minutes a day to build a reading habit. Find out where reading 15 minutes a day can take you! Loh Chin Ee, who researches reading habits at Singapore’s National Institute of Education, said the 15-minute target could be a practical starting point. Participants can also contribute to a charity drive, with the organisation aiming to generate 7.5 million reading minutes and raise up to SG$150,000 (approximately $118,300) this year, CNN reported. Singapore’s 15-year-old students topped the global reading rankings in the 2025 Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), ahead of China and Taiwan, according to The Guardian.
The broader challenge, therefore, is to encourage reading beyond the classroom and exam preparation, making it a habit that continues into everyday life.
The NLB says long-form reading helps people develop critical thinking, understand different perspectives and use their imagination while navigating an increasingly complex world. “While short-form content helps us stay informed, long-form reading strengthens attention, critical thinking and imagination,” the National Library Board’s chief Melissa Tam said in a statement cited by CNN. “For somebody who reads a lot, 15 minutes might feel very short, but I think it is a nice, sweet spot,” Loh told CNN. The programme comes as educators and researchers grapple with concerns about “brain rot” — a term used to describe perceived declines in cognitive engagement associated with excessive consumption of shallow online content. Charissa Ng, principal clinical psychologist at Putra Star Care in Singapore, said cash incentives may work differently depending on a person’s existing interest in reading. “Monetary rewards work well for people who are already somewhat interested in reading, but for those with no existing interest at all, cash incentives may be a hard sell for cultivating a lasting, intrinsic motivation to read,” Ng said, as reported by CNN.
