Singapore pays people to pick up a book in battle against doomscrolling

Singapore is paying its citizens to pick up a book for at least 15 minutes a day in an effort to fight the rise of doomscrolling.

The affluent city-state hopes its gamification strategy, which launched this month, will improve concentration, critical thinking and the imagination of Singaporeans.

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.

The national library board’s chief, Melissa Tam, said sustainable reading habits were built through small and achievable steps.

“We live in a world of extraordinary abundance, of content, information and stimulation,” she told 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.”

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.