Singapore is encouraging 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.
The government says people can track their daily reading times and earn virtual rewards as part of the ReadSG campaign launched by the National Library Board earlier this month.
Interested citizens can log on to the programme’s website or mobile app to record their reading achievements.
“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”.
A reading session of at least 15 minutes earns 20 virtual coins, with 1,000 coins amounting to a dollar.
Loh Chin Ee from the National Institute of Education described gamifying reading and transforming it into a habit as the crux of Singapore’s initiative.
“For somebody who reads a lot, 15 minutes might feel very short, but I think it’s a nice, sweet spot,” she told CNN.
“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 researcher on reading habits said.
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