Singapore launches a program that pays residents to read for at least 15 minutes a day as it seeks to reduce doomscrolling and other excessive online content consumption. The effort is framed as a behavioural and skills-building initiative rather than a media restriction.
The policy is presented as a gamified campaign that starts this month. Organizers say the approach is designed to encourage concentration, critical thinking, and imagination by replacing or reducing time spent in compulsive scrolling. The coverage describes the city-state as using incentives to promote reading habits, while tying the initiative to broader concerns about stimulation overload and the mental effects of constant digital engagement.
Across the available reporting, the focus is on the same core elements: the paid incentive, the minimum daily reading time, and the stated educational goals. Differences are mainly in emphasis and wording, with one outlet describing the campaign’s intent to support cognition and creative thinking in an environment of high digital stimulation.
