SINGAPORE: In the current era, people have abandoned reading and spend most of their time scrolling on smartphones or other devices.
But one country has announced an interesting program to stop its citizens from wasting time on smartphones. Under this program, citizens will be paid for reading a book for at least 15 minutes daily. Yes, Singapore is rewarding citizens for choosing a book over a phone.
The Singapore government hopes that this program will improve people’s ability to focus, critical thinking and imagination. The program was launched in September, under which readers will get points in exchange for which they can get money.
Those who participate in 50 reading sessions daily on a government website will be able to earn one Singapore dollar. They can win 20 virtual coins for one session of 15 minutes or more and one thousand coins will be equal to one Singapore dollar.
Head of Singapore’s National Library Board, Melissa Tam, said that a few steps are needed to make reading a habit for the future. She said, “We live in a world where amazing content is in great abundance; at any time we can scroll through hundreds of headlines, watch videos or see a summary of anything.
She added, “We know that establishing a habit requires small and sustainable steps, so we have given people an easy target for this just read for 15 minutes daily, while traveling on the bus, before sleeping, or during lunch.
“The Singapore government is considering measures that can make social media less harmful for young people, such as limiting online time to protect youth from negative effects on personality.
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