‘Why wait for a bus that won’t come?’: India has more graduates than jobs

Click HERE

India faces a graduate unemployment crisis, with nearly 40% of graduates aged 25 and below unemployed

Between 2004 and 2023, when India’s economy grew 6 per cent to 8 per cent, it added five million graduates every year. But only 2.8 million of them were able to join the workforce annually. Many new graduates do not find relevant or well-paying work for years.

An increasingly educated workforce is entering an economy that is not able to absorb them into high-quality jobs

For issues on the continued relevance of higher education....

Smartphones taking over the lives of Singapore’s seniors: When does heavy use cross into addiction?

Click HERE

the same device that keeps life running smoothly can, over time, begin to dominate it, blurring the line between having a handy helper and unhealthy dependence.

Digital platforms are built to maximise engagement by eliminating friction and encouraging continuous use...Users can slip into what Prof Calvert describes as a “looped state”, where attention narrows and external cues fade.

The combination of abundant free time, instant information and emotional reliance can turn casual use into compulsive patterns before they even notice. For some, that reliance gradually shifts from comfort to crutch: filling emotional gaps but sometimes crowding out other forms of connection and rest.

These devices provide connection and stimulation, but without moderation, they can isolate seniors from the real-world interactions that are crucial for healthy ageing.

For issues on the elderly, technology and loneliness....

Only biological females, determined by gene screening, will be allowed in Olympic female events

Click HERE

The new rules essentially stop transgender athletes from competing in female category events at the Olympics.

All athletes wanting to qualify or take part in female category events from the LA2028 Olympics onwards will have to undergo an SRY gene test to determine their eligibility.

At the Olympic Games, even the smallest margins can be the difference between victory and defeat

So, it is absolutely clear that it would not be fair for biological males to compete in the female category. In addition, in some sports it would simply not be safe.

Sports is where excellence, respect and inclusion meet

Qn: 'Traditional notions of gender are irrelevant today.' To what extent is this true in your society? (NYJC 2025 J2 MYE)

US jury finds Meta, YouTube liable in social media addiction trial

Click HERE

She told jurors that her near-constant social media use “really affected my self-worth”, saying the apps led her to abandon hobbies, struggle to make friends and constantly measure herself against others.

the case as a story of corporate greed, saying features like infinite scrolling, autoplay videos, notifications and like counts were engineered to drive compulsive use among young people.

found Meta liable for endangering children by making them vulnerable to predators on its platforms and other dangers.

For issues on the harms of social media....

She survived pneumonia. Living alone was the real risk

Click HERE

If we are to build a healthier Singapore, we must look beyond the walls of our hospitals and clinics. We must invest in the spaces and relationships that sustain well-being in everyday life. Community connection is not an optional extra but a vital part of health.

Singapore has achieved remarkable success in health outcomes. With an average life expectancy at birth at 83.5 years in 2024, we now rank among the top in global life expectancy.

Purposeful interventions that guide behaviour through laws, incentives, physical infrastructure and social norms, mean that health-promoting choices become easier, or even the default.

Strengthening kampung-style social capital in our modern housing estates is key to encourage healthy ageing in place.

challenges healthcare professionals to look beyond medicine as the only panacea to health. It highlights the need for a shift from treating illness to understanding the whole person, and moving holistic care beyond the clinic to the neighbourhood. 

a reminder that health is not only about the absence of disease. It is about the presence of purpose, connection, and confidence.

Qns: 

1. Are social norms still necessary today?

2. Does your society have what it takes to care for the elderly? (HCI Prelim 2024)

Singapore systems well prepared for ageing. Society? Less so

Click HERE

More than one reason why S’pore couples fear having a second child

Click HERE

A universal child endowment could raise birth rates but would be expensive

Click HERE

note some of the reasons for our low fertility....

China's AI Love Crisis

 

For issues on technology and loneliness....

The thrill lasts seconds The trash lasts forever

Click HERE

Man charged under POFMA over alleged false statements in TikTok videos

Click HERE

For communicating a false statement of fact, an offender can be fined up to $50,000, jailed for up to five years, or both.

Noise-monitoring ‘traffic light’ at Clementi community hall tackles residents’ concerns

 Click HERE

An ageing society tests more than our healthcare system

Click HERE

Video of man stepping on Quran likely by person behind similar videos who was convicted in July 2025

Click HERE

the police on March 7 issued disabling directions (DDs) under the Online Criminal Harms Act 2023 to Meta over social media posts showing a video of a man stepping on the Quran.

acts like these only “sow discord and erode the trust that we have worked hard to build in our multiracial and multi-religious society

In the video, a man wearing black socks can be seen riffling through the pages of a Quran with his feet, and stepping on it. The book is placed on the back seat of a public bus.

Why it’s time to end the grim march of the touchscreen

Click HERE

Kiosks never forget to upsell with sides, meal deals and targeted promotions

customers often prefer the ease and speed of touchscreens. Whizzing through people-free passport checks after a long flight is a joy. I watch in awe at stores such as Uniqlo, where you drop a T-shirt into a tray that somehow instantly knows exactly what you’re buying and what it costs.

Seven years ago, the Dutch supermarket chain Jumbo introduced a slower so-called chat checkout to let customers take their time and talk with cashiers. It proved so popular the company decided to expand it to around 200 stores, especially in places where loneliness was a big problem.

About one in six people worldwide suffers social isolation and loneliness, which cause health problems similar to what you get from smoking up to 15 cigarettes a day

software engineers were starting to report a “huge morale problem”, not because they feared being replaced by AI, but because they were increasingly lonely. Instead of asking colleagues for help, they were asking AI, and felt ever more disconnected as a result.

Qn: To what extent is technology an effective solution for human loneliness? (RVHS Prelim 2025)

askST: What is total fertility rate? What does Singapore’s record low rate mean?

Click HERE

the falling number of births and rapidly ageing population have wide-ranging implications, from weakening family support networks to slowing economic growth. He also stressed the need to have a “carefully managed immigration flow to augment our low birth rate

If the TFR remains at 0.87, this would translate to just 44 children and 19 grandchildren for every 100 residents today....Over time, it will be practically impossible to reverse the trend because we will have fewer and fewer women who can bear children

This means there will be fewer people of working age supporting each senior in the population, and a smaller proportion of the population paying taxes.

Izaac Quek and Koen Pang remind us of a simple truth: Fair play is a beautiful thing

Click HERE

local examples on sportsmanship......

‘Cultivating’ scammers: Trading card community says some mystery packs promote cheating, gambling

Click HERE

Hobbyists said Oripas should be banned due to the gambling and scam risks they pose.
The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has said trading card packs will be regulated  to manage gambling risks involving blind boxes
prices have tripled in the last five years, blurring the line between collector and “investor”......It’s become difficult to disassociate the hobby from money and taking the fun out of it

while trading card communities can be good for the social development of the young, the gambling element of trading card packs must be managed. “They are a form of gambling. You chase that dopamine high of getting a special card, developing compulsive behaviour,

For issues on collecting items and hobbies....

Singapore to raise retirement age to 64 and re-employment age to 69 on July 1: Tan See Leng

Click HERE

This means that Singapore is on track to raise the retirement age to 65 and the re-employment age to 70 by 2030

They shape social norms around ageing and work, giving seniors confidence to stay on, and giving employers the clarity to plan for and retain experienced workers

the Senior Employment Credit scheme allows the Government to provide wage offsets to help employers adjust to the higher retirement and re-employment ages

Chinamaxxing? Boiling apples won’t make you Chinese

Click HERE