Read a book for 15 minutes every day and make money: Unusual initiative launched in Singapore

An unusual initiative has been launched in Singapore to encourage people to step away from their phones and read books. Now, residents of the country who read for at least 15 minutes every day and log their time on a special digital platform will receive virtual coins in return.

The initiative is being implemented by the National Library Board of Singapore as part of the ReadSG movement. The rule is very simple: participants read a book for at least 15 minutes daily and log the time spent in the system.

1,000 virtual coins are equivalent to 1 Singapore dollar.

At first glance, the reward may not seem large. However, the project aims to build a habit of regular reading in people rather than generating income. A participant who reads books for 15 minutes every day can accumulate 7,300 virtual coins over the course of a year.

Through this initiative, Singapore is promoting an alternative activity to the habit of mindlessly and endlessly scrolling through content on social media — known as "doomscrolling".

Experts emphasize that reading long texts is associated with better concentration, deeper comprehension of information, and critical thinking.

Interestingly, according to PISA-2022 results, Singapore was one of the top-performing countries in the world in terms of reading literacy among 15-year-old students. 89 percent of them reached at least Level 2.