Singapore has launched a five-year national campaign that pays citizens to read, in a bid to combat shrinking attention spans and digital distraction.
The initiative, called “ReadSG,” was launched this month by the National Library Board to encourage deep reading among its citizens.
Under the program, participants must log at least 15 minutes of daily reading on CrowdTaskSG, a government-run web portal developed by GovTech.
Each qualifying 15-minute session earns 20 virtual coins. Once a reader accumulates 1,000 coins, these can be converted into SG$1 (around ₱49.20).
To prevent abuse, users are limited to one logged session per day, meaning it would take 50 days of consistent reading to earn a single Singapore dollar.
“We live in a world of extraordinary abundance, of content, information and stimulation,” said Melissa Tam, chief executive of the National Library Board, in an interview with The Straits Times. “At any moment, we can scroll through hundreds of headlines, watch a video or get a summary of almost anything.
“We know that habits are built through small, consistent actions. So, we are starting with a simple goal: just read for 15 minutes a day — on the bus, before bed or over lunch,” she added.
Singapore’s push to promote reading comes as the country continues to perform strongly in global assessments. In 2025, its 15-year-old students topped the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) rankings in reading, outperforming peers from China and Taiwan.
“For somebody who reads a lot, 15 minutes might feel very short, but I think it is a nice, sweet spot,” said Dr. Loh Chin Ee, an associate professor at the National Institute of Education.
She added that gamifying reading provides a trackable, low-barrier entry point for a generation accustomed to constant scrolling.
However, some critics warned that cash incentives could turn reading into a transactional activity rather than a self-driven habit, while others said any effort to reduce smartphone dependence is a welcome intervention.
“I would rather see people reading and miss their train stop than hear the constant sounds of TikTok being blasted on the train,” said Charmaine Lim, a 28-year-old book content creator, in an interview with CNN. She added that the real measure of success would be “whether we become more curious readers who read outside of what is immediately useful to us.”
The pilot campaign will run until the end of 2026, with plans to refine its features based on public feedback as part of a broader five-year strategy.
