Congratulations, Jemimah (4C)! For winning the 1st prize in the George Yeo Blog Competition

Below is her winning entry. enjoy reading!!!:D

A Singapore that Thinks.

Every Average Singaporean will have noticed (or maybe not) this alarming situation.
While waiting for bus twelve at the bus stop- the teenager next to you is sending off text messages to the person next to him/her.
While on the bus-the whole clique of teenaged boys are wearing their thumbs out on their PSPs.
Under the table in class- your friends are watching you tube’s top videos on their hand phone’s video streaming.
While on the MRT- the five year old girl opposite you is fiddling with her light-pink Nintendo DS to the background music of Cooking Mama.
While you are walking to school/work/wherever- everybody around you is plugged into the blaring world of their headphones, shutting out everyone else.It has become an alarmingly prevalent situation not uncommon on the sunny streets of Singapore.
Technology has brought so much entertainment to todays society that we cannot do without a constant source of entertainment- we have to have some form of entertainment, we cannot be one second without something to do, we have to call our friends or listen to music or play games on our handsets at all times, God forbid we stand there with nothing to do.
But At what price?
Hardly anyone thinks anymore.
Obviously im not talking about the “Ho hum, what should i eat for lunch today” or “hm, should i get that dress, its on sale and its Bebe.” type of thinking.
I’m talking about real thinking, the pondering, the thinking out of the box, the debating of why’s and how’s.
With all the entertainment we have on hand 24/7, there hardly leaves us any space to think. Or any desire whatsoever to.
Even if we do,
Answers are so easily provided to us today- with a click of the mouse or the opening of our mouths. Answers are spoon fed to us so much so that even if we deign to wonder, there is no need to think.
Every thing is so convenient, and we get all the answers so easily that we have no need to ponder further, no need to ask “is there another way, is there another answer or is this the only possible solution?”
Which breeds today a generation of mindless zombies only interested in the release date of the next installment of MapleStory so that they can get a fifth job, hurray.
Besides the obvious consequence that this situation brings-we dont have any ability left to think of what to do next with our lives besides saving up money to buy the World of Warcraft installment disc (because where would we all be without DOTA?) - we must bear in mind that this generation, yes, this generation of teenagers and children who cant be bothered to think, are our next and future generation of leaders.
It isnt so much a matter of choosing to think anymore, but whether or not you are able to.
How long can a teenager stay on a train of rational thought of an important current affair without being sidetracked by the winking computer monitor?
Not very long, i’d bet.
How long can singapore survive in such a situation, where board meetings turn into heated debates on whether Monster Hunter or Grand Theft Auto is more entertaining?
Where the new President cant decide whether or not to renew the water contract with Malaysia or explore other possibilities because his head is filled with the hidden worlds of Maple Story?
Yes, it will be very nice if Singapore can continue to be a clean and green city, renowned for its vast variety of food, or if Singapore can be the best city in the world. Sure i would love to see that happening.
I just cant. Not with the current situation of teenagers whose only aspiration for Singapore is for it to get better, but with no idea how.
Therefore, my aspiration for Singapore is for it to posses a people that thinks.For what unlimited potential is there for a country which has a city of thinking, innovative and creative people?
Certainly not one which has its Country’s infrastructure molded after that of Final Fantasy X because the architect cant think of anything else.
With a rare and dying breed of thinking people, my greatest and only aspiration for Singapore is to posses a people that can think further than what is given to them or what is already put in place by other countries only to be copied by us.
Moving forward, with a team of determined and innovative citizens.
The possibilities are limitless.