Fatherhood, full-time: Why more Singapore men are staying home to care for their children

Click HERE

reflect a broader rise in hands-on fatherhood in Singapore, driven partly by the normalisation of flexible and hybrid work during the Covid-19 pandemic

workplace norms remain less supportive of fathers taking up larger caregiving roles, and that mothers are still the primary caregivers in most families

The pandemic briefly made parents’ childcare roles more visible, helping to make male caregiving more acceptable both socially and in workplace settings...It also lowered psychological and practical barriers for fathers to take on primary caregiving – even if temporarily – as flexible and hybrid work became more common

Pragmatism is another factor...Dual-income couples are making decisions based on who earns more, whose job is more flexible and who can step back with less long-term penalty.

more individualistic norms mean couples are less likely to be driven by societal expectations and more likely to choose arrangements that suit their household

Mothers continue to form the vast majority of stay-at-home parents....and many working mothers remain the “default parent”

a comment on Instagram likening him to “chi ruan fan”, which directly translates to “eating soft rice” – a derogatory term used to describe a man who lives off a woman in Chinese

Relate to issues on social norms and tradition.....

Japan’s bullied children have found a new controversial avenue to get back at their tormentors

Click HERE

Note the idea that social media can apply pressure on the relevant parties (e.g. company/govt/sch) to take action, or for the parties involved to be accountable or answerable for their actions... --- seeking justice via social media

Singapore’s recent decision to allow caning for boys aged nine and above in the most egregious of cases from 2027 has drawn some attention.

“Before considering the lifelong effects of corporal punishment on a child, one must consider the lifelong impact of failing to correct behaviour that results in the assault of others.”

Victims and their families who face official apathy are increasingly turning to a controversial new weapon: vigilante justice on social media....Rather than hiding in shame, some families are seeking out and leaking unredacted videos of assaults online, exposing the identities of the bullies to the court of public opinion.

public shaming is necessary to trigger the outrage to force negligent authorities into action.

Lack of social capital a barrier for Malay community despite signs of rising educational mobility: Study

Click HERE

Relate to how meritocracy can entrench the position of those already at the top of society by conferring advantages to their children in the form of social capital....This serves to undermine the 'merit' criterion as a fair yardstick for reward, coz the possession of merit (in this case, education qualifications) is no guaranteee one will be rewarded with a job or promotion since social capital comes into play.

while some in the community have attained higher academic qualifications, “social capital deficit” remains. Social capital refers to the resources and advantages one draws from their social relationships, including access to information, trust and recognition

Those with stronger social capital, such as access to mentors, professional family members or industry networks, were better able to navigate educational and career pathways, while others relied primarily on formal qualifications and personal effort.

Prime Minister Lawrence Wong in September 2025 pledged to “broaden meritocracy” to keep the escalator of mobility moving, after President Tharman Shanmugaratnam identified social mobility as a top priority for the new term of government.

the importance of enablers like social capital, where access to networks can greatly influence the translation of skills and education into meaningful career advancements.

Qn: To what extent is meritocracy an effective way to enhance social mobility in your society? (RI 2023 Yr 5 CT)

Meta’s embrace of AI is making its employees miserable

Click HERE

What employees typed on their computer, how they moved their mouse, where they clicked and what they saw on their screen would be tracked, Meta said. The goal, the company said, was to capture employee data so Meta’s artificial intelligence models could learn “how people actually complete everyday tasks using computers”

The company is also tracking employees’ computer work to feed and train its AI models. At the same time, it is cutting jobs to offset its AI spending, saying in April that it would slash 10 per cent of its workforce

Mr Zuckerberg said Meta was not gathering data on employees for “surveillance or performance tracking or anything like that”. Instead, the data would train AI on “how smart people use computers to accomplish tasks”, he said.

For concerns about AI....

How AI is transforming China’s entertainment industry

Click HERE

Qn: To what extent is artificial intelligence replacing the role of humans? (Cam. 2019)

‘Baited’, then sold: Telegram group circulating nude images of S’pore men

Click HERE

Good example of how sharing data causes one to lose control over how it will be used, given the faceless nature and anonymity of users online.....

The unlawful circulation of obscene photos and videos on Telegram involving Singaporeans has happened before, with the most prolific case involving a group called SG Nasi Lemak....The group mostly dealt in intimate photos and videos of Singaporean women, and four suspects were arrested in October 2019.

Qn: 'It is impossible to protect one’s privacy today.’ Do you agree? (NYJC 2025 J2 TP)

Free-to-air events, swanky stadium: What HK’s sports push is really about

Click HERE

has a lot to do with boosting the economy and uniting society.

All these achievements serve to ignite people’s interest, encourage them to try more sports themselves, and also provide a solid fan base for mega events

Hong Kong society was left deeply divided after prolonged anti-government protests in 2019.....campaign to promote and develop the city’s sporting sector is in part meant to foster social cohesion, boost morale and strengthen the people’s sense of national identity

Participating in sports events – especially when the local representative team gets a good result – boosts the unity of the entire society,...For the Hong Kong audience, seeing our teams compete against the country’s best (like in the National Games) gives them a sense of belonging as a part of the country, but also the sense that Hong Kong is a unique part of our country

(A public-private partnership) can help us bundle sporting events with shopping, dining and cultural tours. By treating sports as a core pillar of our city’s branding, we attract high-spending international visitors

Qn: Does sport merit the vast sums of money that are spent on it? (Cam. 2010)

Filipino pageant contestant struts in ‘non-pageant body’, sparking debate over male beauty

Click HERE

Interesting contrast if u compare HERE

For issues on gender protrayal in the media....

Is AI making us artificially intelligent, but unable to analyse?

Click HERE

Note how the closing echoes the opening...

Let’s consider an analogy from the world of aviation. As autopilot systems became sophisticated enough to handle most phases of flight, pilots were still trained rigorously, still highly capable, but they were flying less and managing systems more. Over time, flying was no longer second nature to them and when things went wrong, some pilots, particularly those who had spent their entire careers in the automation era, struggled to take over manually. Not because they weren’t smart enough, but because they hadn’t been doing it enough.
Skill, it turns out, is not something you have. It is something you keep doing.

For issues on AI's impact.....