reading Hours

 

Singapore is paying people to read books – can it fix the reading crisis?

 Author: Ella Creamer

Date: Friday, September 18, 2026 (16:26 BST)

Source: The Guardian

A government scheme is giving citizens cash for spending time with a good book. We ask behavioural scientists, along with The Anxious Generation author and psychologist Jonathan Haidt, whether it'll help make the habit stick.

Could the solution to the reading crisis lie in paying people to put down their phones and pick up a book? That's what one...

...one logged session allowed per day. But behavioural scientists and psychologists told the Guardian such a scheme could still help boost a habit in precipitous decline.

Jonathan Haidt, a psychologist and the author of the bestselling book The Anxious Generation, about the impact of social media on young people's mental health, says that some children are highly motivated by money, and "all kids respond to rewards to some degree" – so for young people, the scheme is "likely to have some beneficial effect in setting up a habit of reading". Lory Barile, associate professor in economics at the University of Warwick, adds that "there is good evidence that repeating a behaviour consistently can help it become more automatic over time".

If participants find reading "pleasurable in itself", then the habit may stick, says Haidt. Yet, for some, the monetary reward "will convey to them that they are reading only for the extrinsic reward", and so when the money stops, the reading will, too. Barile agrees that the most interesting question isn't whether people read more while they're being rewarded, but whether the scheme "helps people establish a reading habit that persists once the reward is no longer present".

While the earning potential of the Singapore scheme is low, this doesn't necessarily mean it won't be effective, says Ivo Vlaev, a professor of behavioural psychology at the National University of Singapore. "One of the interesting findings from behavioural science is that incentives do not always work in proportion to their monetary value."

"The question is whether it helps people establish a reading habit that persists once the reward is no longer present"

— Lory Barile

The scheme shouldn't be thought of as "paying people to read" in a conventional economic sense – a dollar every few weeks is obviously not enough to compensate participants for the time they've invested. Instead, the payment "may be acting more as a trigger than as a wage", says Vlaev. Logging reading time and accumulating points means participants "receive an immediate signal that the behaviour has been recognised, your streak continues and you make progress towards a goal". And once someone has actually started reading, "the intrinsic rewards of the activity can take over", he adds.

We all know reading has long-term benefits, but a key element of the...

...originated in David Cameron's Cabinet Office, also known as the "nudge unit"). "Having a manageable 15-minute daily goal, built around existing routines like commuting or bedtime, with streaks and tracking to keep progress visible" are the aspects that could make the scheme a success, he says.

Such a scheme may be particularly effective for lapsed readers. "If people are already intrinsically motivated to read, this may be enough to tip them over the edge to read a bit more," says Katy Milkman, a professor at Wharton business school, University of Pennsylvania. Vlaev adds that "if somebody already intends to read but repeatedly fails to get started, a tiny immediate reward can help bridge the gap between intention and action".

"Incentives do not always work in proportion to their monetary value"

— Ivo Vlaev

In the UK, non-monetary reward schemes for reading and other types of learning have long been in place, such as the primary school rainbow...

...A UK pilot of the Singapore-style scheme could therefore "compare small financial rewards with symbolic rewards such as certificates or badges, as well as gamification, goal-setting and progress feedback", says Barile. Others agree that such schemes should be run as trials, "so we find out what works and why", says Taylor. Haidt suggests a few variations to test: some children could be randomly assigned to be paid in cash, others could be paid in free books of their choice ("so that they see books as a reward, not money as a reward for reading"), and others "are simply urged to read to get points in a competition, no money". A fourth group "would be a true control, nothing is done, other than measuring how many books they read".

But the question remains: should governments financially reward what has been traditionally considered something you do for fun? Milkman sees it differently: "We subsidise, and even require, many other forms of education." So why not reward reading, too?

Could Latin become Europe’s common language? A young group thinks it can

 Author: Evaldas Labanauskas, LRT.lt

Date: September 19, 2026

Source: LRT.lt

It may sound improbable: Latin, often described as a dead language, becoming a common language understood across Europe.

...them would require a long political and cultural journey.

For the founders of Via Nova – Latin for "new way" – that journey is measured not in years or decades, but generations.

"It all started with a four-month backpacking trip around the world," said Timi Celcer, the organisation's leader. "Ironically, it all started outside Europe."

Celcer, a self-described pan-European who studied political science, worked at Google and founded a startup, said the trip prompted him to think about how other cultures relate to their traditions.

He was particularly struck by India and China, where he said linguistic integration had helped create broader national identities.

"...distanced themselves from theirs," Celcer said.

He came to believe that the European project needed a third pillar alongside political and economic integration: culture.

"My eureka moment was realising that Latin historically played this role and is not associated with any particular country or region," he said. "It is our collective heritage, connected to our shared traditions, and could play this role again."

Latin was originally spoken by the Latins of Latium, in central Italy. It spread throughout territories conquered by the Roman Republic and later the Roman Empire. Although it eventually ceased to be a native spoken language, Latin profoundly influenced European languages, including Italian, French and Spanish.

During the Middle Ages, written Latin became a major language of scholarship and administration across Western and Central Europe. It remains an official language of the Vatican.

Celcer also points to the revival of Hebrew in the 19th and 20th centuries as evidence that languages can return to everyday use after long periods of decline.

...Frenchman. The organisation is seeking members from across Europe, including Lithuania, where Celcer said it currently has no supporters.

One of its founders, Pierre Gorsky-Mieze, teaches Latin at Oxford Latinitas and speaks the language fluently. The other founders are learning it.

"We are growing together," Celcer said. "Three of the four of us in the founding team speak Latin about as well as the average European. But we are learning, Pierre teaches us, and we are trying to bring Latin increasingly into everyday use."

Gorsky-Mieze argues that Latin is not as difficult as many people assume.

"Latin can be spoken in everyday life," he said. "For example, with my girlfriend, who is not French, we don't speak English. We speak Latin to each other."

Celcer argues that Latin has an advantage because it is a historical European language rather than an invented one. Until the 18th century, it was widely used in academic, diplomatic and religious settings, and in some places remained in use into the 19th century.

He recalls an episode from the European Parliament in 1979, when Italian lawmaker Mario Capanna unexpectedly addressed the chamber in Latin. Otto von Habsburg responded in Latin, praising it as a distinctly European language.

Gašper Mlakar, another Via Nova founder, said Latin remains embedded in Europe's collective cultural memory.

"Even today, I think Latin is still somewhere in Europe's collective subconscious," he said. "People who try to create European organisations often use Latin names for them."

Via Nova has outlined a four-stage process for its project.

The first is what Celcer calls democratic legitimacy: persuading Europeans to view Latin as a potential symbol of European unity rather than primarily associating it with classical studies or religious traditions.

The final goal would be recognition as an official EU language while preserving Europe's national languages.

"We always emphasise that this project could take several generations," Celcer said. "It is a very long road."

"Europe should think in generations," he added.

Tilen Božič, another Via Nova founder and its marketing director, said the project is not about bringing the past back to life but using Europe's linguistic heritage to build something new.

"The Latin we are trying to promote is not about bringing history into the present," he said. "It is about taking a modern path – bringing people together and creating a common..."