News

TODAY’s long-running Big Read series looked at why youths prefer to text than to get on a phone call, both at work and socially.

SINGAPORE – On TikTok, you might have come across lesser-known aspects of Singapore’s history.

Accounts such as Historyogi and Urbanist Singapore are run by home-grown creators passionate about the past and keen to make it fun and accessible. They have found an audience by posting archival material, such as audio and video clips, as well as fascinating trivia about the island nation.

A new study shows that early bilingualism leads to beneficial structural changes in the brain, including increased gray matter volume and greater cortical thickness, which contribute to stronger cognitive reserve.

Last October, Deputy Prime Minister Mr Lawrence Wong shared the main findings of the “Forward Singapore” report: Singaporeans’ pursuit of a better life is not about the material pursuit of the five Cs; they also care about satisfaction and happiness, that is, the pursuit of meaning and purpose in life.

In my earliest memories, celebrating the Chinese New Year at home was a very solemn and cosy affair. I especially remember my mother teaching me to hold two oranges in both hands and respectfully wish my grandmother: “Ma Ma, I wish you good health, success, and happiness and health for the family!” The weather-beaten wrinkles on my grandmother’s forehead straightened out in an instant, and she was filled with a smile. Her eyes were full of love, as warm as the spring breeze. The kindness on her face is still deeply imprinted in my memory.

Grandma Huang has never used a smartphone even though her son bought her the latest iPhone 15 and installed high-speed home network and WiFi at home. She said that she did not know how to use it and could not figure out the application instructions. It would be bad if she pressed the wrong button. Smartphones has never appeared in her life and without it, her life would still go on. Aunty Li was envious when she saw her best friend watching “Happiness Comes” on her tablet computer while riding the train. She also wanted to watch it on her 5.4-inch mobile phone, but the screen was too small, and her eyesight was not good, so she had no choice but to give up.

In this digital age, children are exposed to overwhelming amounts of information online, some of it unverified and increasingly generated by non-human sources, such as AI-driven language models. As children grow older, the ability to assess a source’s reliability is an important skill in cultivating critical thinking.

Professor Yow Wei Quin, Head of HASS, writes about confidence in use of technology in seniors.

The connection between a livestream host and viewers is an example of a “parasocial” relationship, a one-sided relationship formed with a media persona, said Assistant Professor Andrew Yee (Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences).

In psychology, theory of mind is an important social cognitive skill that involves the ability to think about mental states, including emotions, desires, beliefs and knowledge, and to recognise that other people’s thoughts and beliefs are not necessarily the same as one’s own.