Singapore is paying its citizens to pick up a book for 15 minutes a day under a new five-year national programme to fight brain rot and strengthen the country’s reading culture.
Under the scheme, readers accrue points that can be redeemed for a few cents. People will have to log 50 daily reading sessions on a government website to earn S$1 (80c). A session of 15 minutes or more is rewarded with 20 virtual coins, with 1,000 coins needed for a dollar payment. One reading session is allowed daily.
“All it takes is 15 minutes a day to build a reading habit. That is about the time between three MRT stops, waiting for your bus, or enjoying your morning coffee,” the campaign webpage states. “Small moments add up to big stories. Find out where reading 15 minutes a day can take you!”
Melissa Tam, chief of the National Library Board, said the campaign was an attempt to help readers navigate the world with skills that came from long-form reading.
“While short-form content helps us stay informed, long-form reading strengthens attention, critical thinking, and imagination,” she said. “Ultimately, we want to see a nation of readers who are curious, thoughtful, discerning and equipped to navigate an increasingly complex world.”
The programme offers multiple “flavours of reading” to initiate people keen on joining – Kueh Lapis is described as “layered, intentional, and notices what others miss”; Kulfi is “flavourful, aspirational and can get chaotic”; Ang Ku Kueh is “wistful, imaginative, wanderer, but not forgotten!”, and Tang Yuan is “unassuming, warm, your way, or the highway”.
The government is considering ways to make social media less harmful for young Singaporeans, including a daily time limit. Doomscrolling and addiction caused most harm to young people, a recent study found.
It is not uncommon for the Singapore government to use financial incentives to try to influence the behaviour of its citizens. Previous health-focused initiatives have included supermarket vouchers for walking and prizes for hitting daily step targets.
Despite government concerns about reading, Singapore’s 15-year-old students recently topped the world rankings for reading in the 2025 Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), beating China and Taiwan.