Singapore, September 17, 2026: Singapore’s new reading campaign rewards people for logging at least 15 minutes of reading a day. Readers earn virtual coins that can be converted into cash, with 50 reading sessions fetching SG$1.

Whether waiting for a train or spending time alone at a cafe, people in Singapore are being encouraged to embrace a habit that is increasingly competing with their screens: reading.

The Southeast Asian nation this month launched a five-year national campaign aimed at building reading habits. Among its incentives are small cash rewards for citizens who record their reading minutes on a government website.

Officials hope gamification, using a points-based system to encourage regular reading while offering modest rewards, along with a sense of collective participation, can help revive a habit increasingly displaced by doomscrolling and consumption of short-form online content.

“While short-form content helps us stay informed, long-form reading strengthens attention, critical thinking and imagination,” National Library Board chief Melissa Tam said in a statement.

“Ultimately, we want to see a nation of readers who are curious, thoughtful, discerning and equipped to navigate an increasingly complex world.”

15 Minutes A Day For A Reward

The programme is unlikely to make readers rich. Participants need to complete reading sessions on 50 days to earn SG$1 ($0.8). Each session lasting at least 15 minutes earns 20 virtual coins, while 1,000 coins are required to receive the SG$1 payment. Only one session can be recorded each day.

The initiative comes amid concerns over shrinking attention spans and declining reading habits worldwide. Educators are grappling with “brain rot”, a perceived decline in cognitive abilities attributed to excessive consumption of shallow online content, as well as doomscrolling.

Global rankings released last week showed that reading scores among 15-year-olds in the United States have fallen, while Asian countries such as Singapore and China continue to perform strongly. The study also highlighted higher levels of digital distraction in classrooms as a challenge.

Loh Chin Ee of Singapore’s National Institute of Education said turning reading into a game and eventually a habit is central to the initiative.

“For somebody who reads a lot, 15 minutes might feel very short, but I think it is a nice, sweet spot,” Loh, who researches reading habits, 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.”

Exams Can Take The Joy Out Of Reading

Although Singapore remains a global standout in reading scores, concerns persist that students lose momentum as they progress through school and begin preparing for major examinations.

Isaac Neo, a 32-year-old risk analyst in Singapore who reads technical reports and news stories for work, believes many young people lose the pleasure of reading when they reach secondary school.

“I think during your teenage years, it can be quite stressful,” Neo said.

“There are a lot of big examinations and you start to read only for what you’re being tested on. And then, slowly you lose the habit of reading for leisure.”

After realising that he had not picked up a book for years since beginning his career, Neo co-founded the Modern Men’s Book Club in 2025.

“I’ve spoken to quite a few people who say that’s their motivation: to pick up reading again as a habit because they haven’t done it for so long,” he said.

Neo said members of his book club have told him they had not read a book in years and are now exploring genres they might previously have avoided.

Can Cash Build A Reading Habit?

The earn-as-you-read initiative is in a pilot phase until the end of the year, “with new features and enhancements to come based on feedback,” according to the National Library Board.

Readers can also participate in a charity drive through which the organisation hopes to accumulate 7.5 million reading minutes and raise up to $118,300 (SG$150,000) this year.

The initiative has prompted debate in the affluent city-state over whether financial incentives can genuinely foster a lifelong love of books. Critics argue that people should read for the pleasure of reading, while others believe any measure that encourages the habit is worthwhile in an age of constant digital distraction.

“I would rather see people reading and miss their train stop or their bus stop than hear the constant sounds of TikTok and AI-generated Chinese dramas being blasted on the train,” Charmaine Lim, a 28-year-old book and lifestyle content creator in Singapore, told CNN.

Ashley Chia, who runs a book club, said success should be measured more broadly than simply counting reading minutes.

“I like the whole idea of making reading habitual and giving people a small nudge to begin,” she said.

“If Singapore wants to build a reading culture, perhaps success isn’t only that people read for 15 minutes a day, it’s also that we become more curious readers. We read outside what is immediately available to us, or immediately useful to us.”

Will The Habit Last When The Reward Ends?

Research, however, suggests monetary incentives can sometimes reduce a person’s natural desire to continue a behaviour once the reward is withdrawn.

“Monetary rewards work well for people who are already somewhat interested in reading, but for those with no existing interest at all, cash incentives may be a hard sell for cultivating a lasting, intrinsic motivation to read,” said Charissa Ng, principal clinical psychologist at Putra Star Care in Singapore.

Also Watch:

Singapore Reading Campaign Offers Cash Rewards For 15 Minutes Of Daily Reading To Fight Digital Distraction