Why is Singapore paying its citizens to read books?
In Singapore, reading books doesn't just make people smarter; it also rewards them with cash.
To fight brain rot and boost the country's reading culture, the Singapore government has launched the ReadSG Campaign, a five-year national program that gamifies the habit of reading.
The campaign began on Sept. 6, which was also the first day of Singapore's inaugural National Reading Month.
Per the National Library Board (NLB) of Singapore, the campaign aims to encourage "Singaporeans to make reading part of their everyday lives, starting with just 15 minutes a day," the agency wrote on Facebook.
"All it takes is 15 minutes a day to build a reading habit. That's about the time between three MRT stops, waiting for your bus, or enjoying your morning coffee. Small moments add up to big stories," the ReadSG website wrote.
According to NLB chief Melissa Tan, the campaign seeks to give participants the skills that long-form reading brings.
"While short-form content helps us stay informed, long-form reading strengthens attention, critical thinking, and imagination," she said in an interview. "Ultimately, we want to see a nation of readers who are curious, thoughtful, discerning, and equipped to navigate an increasingly complex world."
The challenge is open to anyone with a Singpass account, which is the digital identity of Singapore citizens and permanent residents.
Participants begin the challenge by taking a short personality quiz, which matches them with a "reading flavor" that suits them. There's the Kueh Lapis flavor, which is "layered, intentional, and notices what others miss"; Kulfi, "Flavorful, aspirational, and can get chaotic"; and Tang Yuan, "Unassuming, warm, your way or the highway", among others.
Fifteen minutes of reading a day starts a reading streak. Participants log their daily reading sessions on the ReadSG Challenge page on CrowdTaskSG, which is the Singapore government's platform for citizens and permanent residents.
One 15-minute session earns 20 virtual coins; 1,000 coins equate to SG$1 (~P43). That means participants need to log in 50 days of reading sessions to earn a dollar. They cannot log more than one session per day.
Clearly, NLB's goal is to build the habit of reading, not to make people rich.
Adding to the motivation, from Sept. 6 to Oct. 7, all reading sessions logged in the ReadSG Challenge will contribute toward NLB's signature charity drive Read for Good.
Singapore's novel initiative of gamifying reading was launched around the same time the 2025 Programme for International Student Assessment found that high school students, particularly in Singapore, Japan, South Korea, and China, are ahead of their Western peers in terms of reading, according to a report by CNN.
