In Your Opinion The Straits Times

How much is too much when sharing details of your life online?

Synopsis: The Straits Times’ Natasha Ann Zachariah explores contemporary societal choices and youth perspectives and digs deeper into issues of the day.Why do people feel so comfortable sharing intimate details of their lives online?The Usual Place’s host Natasha Ann Zachariah sits down with TikTokers Candice Gallagher and Shaun Elias Chua, and Twitch streamer Jacey Vong, to find out why they started sharing personal details of their lives online.When everything now becomes free game, is there a line that crosses into oversharing and how do they deal with negative comments?

Highlights (click/tap above):

4:33: Why do the three of them put out so much of their lives on social media?

16:36: Is it weird that virtual strangers know small details about their lives?

23:15: Dealing with haters - why not just quit instead?

33:20: Being cancelled - the risk of sharing their opinions

DM Natasha your thoughts on this topic at her IG: https://str.sg/8Wav

Candice Gallagher on TikTok: https://str.sg/KVvw

Shaun Elias Chua on TikTok: https://str.sg/AeCK

Jacey Vong on Twitch: https://str.sg/752E

Produced by: Natasha Zachariah (natashaz@sph.com.sg), Ernest Luis, Lynda Hong, Teo Tong Kai, Eden Soh, Joel Chng and Marc Justin De Souza

Edited by: Teo Tong Kai & Eden Soh

Follow The Usual Place Podcast here and get notified for new episode drops:

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Apple Podcasts: https://str.sg/9ijX 

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Feedback to: podcast@sph.com.sg

Read Natasha Zachariah's articles: https://str.sg/iSXm

Follow Natasha on LinkedIn: https://str.sg/v6DN

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Special edition series:

True Crimes Of Asia (6 eps): https://str.sg/i44T

The Unsolved Mysteries of South-east Asia (5 eps): https://str.sg/wuZ2

Invisible Asia (9 eps): https://str.sg/wuZn

Stop Scams (10 eps): https://str.sg/wuZB

Singapore's War On Covid (5 eps): https://str.sg/wuJa

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Two youth volunteers - adults with full-time jobs - explain what motivates them to spark change in the community. 

Synopsis: Every second Monday of the month, The Straits Times takes a hard look at Singapore's social issues of the day with guests.

Youth Corps Singapore, which is under the National Youth Council, turns 10 in 2024. It is a division under the council that champions youth volunteerism to ignite positive change in society through community service.

In this episode, ST podcast assistant editor Lynda Hong speaks with two volunteer leaders Afzal Hadi and Valerie Kwa, to find out about their experience with Youth Corps Singapore. 

Afzal is currently the Welfare Lead in the Engagement Taskforce Cluster and is a member of the Ambassadors Team cluster, while Valerie is Publicity Team Lead within the Mental Health Cluster. The two young working adults - Afzal is in business development while Valerie is in social service - also offer tips on how to pick a cluster to volunteer with.

Clusters can be thought of a “specialisation” - youth-led, youth-run interest groups within Youth Corps. They include: Children, Youth and Family, Eldercare, Special Needs, Beyond Singapore, Mental Health and Sustainability.

This podcast is brought to you by National Youth Council: https://str.sg/wFbf

Highlights (click/tap above):

1:30 Life-changing experiences from volunteering - Afzal's U-turn from business school to study social work instead, and Valerie advocating for mental health 

5:50 How youths can pick their preferred cause from Youth Corps’ 12 clusters - specialisation areas

7:40 Discovering leadership style through volunteerism

11:04 Afzal and Valerie on Youth Corps allowing interested youths to try out in a small way, before deciding which cluster to volunteer in

12:30 How much time Afzal and Valerie spends on volunteering? 

14:40 Despite working full-time jobs, hear why Afzal and Valerie are still volunteering

*Youth Corps will also organise a 10th Anniversary Carnival at *Scape Playspace in Somerset on July 6, 2024.

*Interested youths can also participate in the Do Good Fest, which will be held from May to July, providing over 3,000 opportunities to learn about volunteerism.

More on:

Youth Corps Singapore’s Instagram page: https://str.sg/eYAZ

Youth Corps Singapore’s Website: https://str.sg/bx2p

Youth Corps Singapore’s Telegram group for volunteering opportunities: https://str.sg/AtWZ

Produced by: Lynda Hong (lyndahong@sph.com.sg), Ernest Luis & Hadyu Rahim 

Edited by: Hadyu Rahim & Amirul Karim

Follow In Your Opinion Podcast here and get notified for new episode drops:

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Website: http://str.sg/stpodcasts

Feedback to: podcast@sph.com.sg

Read ST's Opinion section: https://str.sg/w7sH

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Discover more ST podcast channels:

COE Watch: https://str.sg/iTtE

The Usual Place: https://str.sg/wEr7u

Asian Insider: https://str.sg/JWa7

Health Check: https://str.sg/JWaN

Green Pulse: https://str.sg/JWaf

Your Money & Career: https://str.sg/wB2m

Hard Tackle: https://str.sg/JWRE

#PopVultures: https://str.sg/JWad

Music Lab: https://str.sg/w9TX

Discover ST Podcasts: http://str.sg/stpodcasts

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Special edition series:

True Crimes Of Asia (6 eps): https://str.sg/i44T

The Unsolved Mysteries of South-east Asia (5 eps): https://str.sg/wuZ2

Invisible Asia (9 eps): https://str.sg/wuZn

Stop Scams (10 eps): https://str.sg/wuZB

Singapore's War On Covid (5 eps): https://str.sg/wuJa

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Our guests discuss if parenthood is an expectation or choice.

Synopsis: The Straits Times’ Natasha Ann Zachariah explores contemporary societal choices and youth perspectives and digs deeper into issues of the day.

In Singapore, where preliminary estimates indicate its Total Fertility Rate hit a record low of 0.97 in 2023, some are opting to remain child-free.

In the first episode of our new podcast series, The Usual Place’s host Natasha Ann Zachariah brings together two guests who hold opposing views on being parents.

Joan Chong, 35, never wants kids. She never yearned for them before she got married, and flat out told her partner when they started dating, that she did not want to be a parent.

Meanwhile, Dainial Lim is a passionate voice in favour of embracing the joys of parenthood. To him, having children is a natural path in life after getting married, and it would have been a relationship dealbreaker for him if his wife was not for it.

They sit down with Natasha to dissect their personal choices in a candid and unfiltered conversation. What unfolds is a discussion about their choices and dissecting the misconceptions that come with it.

Highlights (click/tap above):

3:56 Is it still taboo to say you want to be childfree

6:48 Do women still bear the burden of raising children?

9:44 Joan’s realities of being childfree

14:31 The scary part about having children

17:16 How kids changed Dainial’s life

23:05 Does Joan feel left out for not receiving government incentives?

25:17 Are Singaporean parents entitled?

31:25 If anyone’s on the fence about having children, what would Joan and Dainial tell them?

DM Natasha your thoughts on this topic at her IG: https://str.sg/8Wav

Watch the video version of this episode: https://str.sg/nZDz

Produced by: Natasha Zachariah (natashaz@sph.com.sg), Ernest Luis, Lynda Hong and Studio+65

Edited by: Teo Tong Kai & Eden Soh

Follow The Usual Place Podcast here and get notified for new episode drops:

Channel: https://str.sg/5nfm 

Apple Podcasts: https://str.sg/9ijX 

Spotify: https://str.sg/cd2P 

ST Podcasts YouTube: https://str.sg/4Vwsa

Website: http://str.sg/stpodcasts

Feedback to: podcast@sph.com.sg

Read Natasha Zachariah's articles: https://str.sg/iSXm

Follow Natasha on LinkedIn: https://str.sg/v6DN

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Discover more ST podcast channels:

The Usual Place: https://str.sg/wEr7u

COE Watch: https://str.sg/iTtE

Asian Insider: https://str.sg/JWa7

Health Check: https://str.sg/JWaN

Green Pulse: https://str.sg/JWaf

Your Money & Career: https://str.sg/wB2m

Hard Tackle: https://str.sg/JWRE

#PopVultures: https://str.sg/JWad

Music Lab: https://str.sg/w9TX

Discover ST Podcasts: http://str.sg/stpodcasts

---

Special edition series:

True Crimes Of Asia (6 eps): https://str.sg/i44T

The Unsolved Mysteries of South-east Asia (5 eps): https://str.sg/wuZ2

Invisible Asia (9 eps): https://str.sg/wuZn

Stop Scams (10 eps): https://str.sg/wuZB

Singapore's War On Covid (5 eps): https://str.sg/wuJa

---

Get The Straits Times' app, which has a dedicated podcast player section:

The App Store: https://str.sg/icyB

Google Play: https://str.sg/icyX

#tup #tuptr
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

With Singapore’s resident total fertility rate dropping below 1 for the first time - hitting a historic low at 0.97 last year in 2023 - we discuss how the birth rate can be boosted.

Synopsis: Every second Monday of the month, The Straits Times takes a hard look at social issues of the day with guests.

For many years in Singapore, we have not had enough babies to replace ourselves, with the Total Fertility rate, or TFR, remaining below the replacement rate of 2.1. 

Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) Indranee Rajah - who assists in oversight of the National Population and Talent Division in the PMO - said in Parliament on Feb 28, that preliminary estimates indicate a resident TFR of 0.97 in 2023, posing twin demographic challenges for Singapore alongside an ageing population.

In this episode, ST podcast assistant editor Lynda Hong hosts Ms Indranee to find out how workplaces here can become more family-friendly, and debates what an “excellent parent” should ideally mean in this day and age.  

Two young parents - unmarried to each other - are also in the studio to ask Ms Indranee about how Singapore's workplaces can be made friendly for parents juggling child-rearing responsibilities. 

Mr Daniel Lim, a 31-year-old research analyst, is a father of three. Ms Deniece Grace Foo, 37, runs Emerge Arts and Media Academy, a performing arts school for children. She has two young children. 

They also share their personal challenges and joys in raising a family. 

Highlights (click/tap above):

1:40 The government-paid paternity leave has just been doubled to four weeks on a voluntary basis; Minister Indranee on how the take-up rate is at just over 50% for now

2:33 Deniece asks the Minister: What can be done to support manpower challenges faced by SMEs?

7:38 Minister Indranee addresses the fear of a lack of mobility in one's career due to flexible work arrangement requests, and why Singapore employers who are hesitant to adopt such practices, should see it as a competitive advantage in hiring

9:20 Daniel’s experience as a "young parent employee", on "wanting to succeed at home and at work", and Deniece’s experience as an young employer helping "young parent employees"

23:24 Daniel asks the Minister: Would there ever be a form of grandparents childcare leave, especially if they will be the new "young working seniors" in future? Can Singapore be branded as one of the most "family-friendly nations" globally?

31:20 Minister Indranee on a line in her Parliament speech, on how “pressures to be an excellent parent” is one of the concerns to having children;

35:10 Daniel and Deniece on juggling pressures to be "excellent" young parents

Produced by: Lynda Hong (lyndahong@sph.com.sg), Ernest Luis, Hadyu Rahim & Amirul Karim

Edited by: Hadyu Rahim & Amirul Karim

Follow In Your Opinion Podcast here and rate us:

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Website: http://str.sg/stpodcasts

Feedback to: podcast@sph.com.sg

Read ST's Opinion section: https://str.sg/w7sH

Read ST's Budget 2024 coverage: https://www.straitstimes.com/tags/budget-2024

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Discover more ST podcast channels:

In Your Opinion: https://str.sg/w7Qt

Asian Insider: https://str.sg/JWa7

Health Check: https://str.sg/JWaN

Green Pulse: https://str.sg/JWaf

Your Money & Career: https://str.sg/wB2m

ST Sports Talk: https://str.sg/JWRE

#PopVultures: https://str.sg/JWad

Music Lab: https://str.sg/w9TX

Discover ST Podcasts: http://str.sg/stpodcasts

---

Special edition series:

True Crimes Of Asia (6 eps): https://str.sg/i44T

The Unsolved Mysteries of South-east Asia (5 eps): https://str.sg/wuZ2

Invisible Asia (9 eps): https://str.sg/wuZn

Stop Scams (10 eps): https://str.sg/wuZB

Singapore's War On Covid (5 eps): https://str.sg/wuJa

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Two young hawkers chat about the profession in this era of high inflation - how to maintain profitability while still serving that affordable meal. 

Synopsis: Every second and fourth Monday of the month, The Straits Times takes a hard look at social issues of the day with guests.

The cost of living has gotten more expensive in the last two years. Inflation measured by a basket of consumer goods was 4.8 per cent higher in 2023 than 2022, more than in 2021 when the price increase was at 2.3 per cent. For young hawkers who also have their families to care for, maintaining a profit margin while resisting raising prices, can be challenging. 

Cost differences between running a stall in private coffee shops vis a vis hawker centres managed by NEA, could make a stark difference in profitability, according to two hawkers. In this episode,ST podcast assistant editor Lynda Hong speaks with Jeevan Ananthan, 32, who sells Li Na noodles - bak chor mee - in three stalls in coffee shops with a central kitchen. Also in the studio is Cornelius Tan, 38, vice-chairman of the Chinatown Complex Hawker association. He is also a second-generation hawker of Chai Wee Cuttlefish stall in a hawker centre managed by the NEA.  

They also talk about how the government subsidy waives the 0.5 per cent transaction fee that stallholders will have to pay for each digital transaction – those made via QR code payments under the Singapore Quick Response Code (SGQR) platform.

The new subsidy window, under the Hawkers Go Digital initiative to spur more merchants to digitalise, continues until Dec 31, 2024 – the second time it has been extended. It was initially extended to the end of 2023 to support stallholders during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Highlights (click/tap above):

7:34 “Let hawkers increase prices without guilt”? How rentals in hawker centres managed by NEA are charged differently from private coffee shops and food courts

13:20 Juggling manpower costs: Hiring Singaporeans and Permanent Residents (PRs)

15:19 Is there "greed" when it comes to rent in private coffee shops and food courts? 

16:13 Why the SGQR unified payment code method has helped many hawkers survive lately

17:30 Jeevan's and Cornelius' journey from the corporate world to the hawker profession; did their university degrees help in current hawker profession?

24:32 Overseas ventures: How will the Lina Noodles empire strike out next?26:01 Advice for young and aspiring hawkers or “hawkerpreneurs”

Produced by: Lynda Hong (lyndahong@sph.com.sg), Ernest Luis and Hadyu Rahim

Edited by: Hadyu Rahim

Follow In Your Opinion Podcast here and rate us:

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Website: http://str.sg/stpodcasts

Feedback to: podcast@sph.com.sg

Read ST's Opinion section: https://str.sg/w7sH

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Discover more ST podcast channels:

COE Watch: https://str.sg/iTtE

In Your Opinion: https://str.sg/w7Qt

Asian Insider: https://str.sg/JWa7

Health Check: https://str.sg/JWaN

Green Pulse: https://str.sg/JWaf

Your Money & Career: https://str.sg/wB2m

ST Sports Talk: https://str.sg/JWRE

#PopVultures: https://str.sg/JWad

Music Lab: https://str.sg/w9TX

Discover ST Podcasts: http://str.sg/stpodcasts

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Special edition series:

True Crimes Of Asia (6 eps): https://str.sg/i44T

The Unsolved Mysteries of South-east Asia (5 eps): https://str.sg/wuZ2

Invisible Asia (9 eps): https://str.sg/wuZn

Stop Scams (10 eps): https://str.sg/wuZB

Singapore's War On Covid (5 eps): https://str.sg/wuJa

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This Budget 2024 special analysis examines how measures announced would benefit Singaporean youth, from education, to housing, childcare and inflation. 

Synopsis: Titled “Building our Shared Future Together”, Budget 2024 was delivered by Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Lawrence Wong in Parliament on Feb 16, 2024. 

The plan for revenue and expenditure of the Singapore government was laid out to address immediate challenges like cost-of-living pressures while investing in longer-term goals of strong economic growth, better jobs and a culture of lifelong learning.

We examine how Budget 2024's measures announced would benefit Singaporean youth, from education, to housing, childcare and inflation. 

In this special episode, ST assistant podcast editor Lynda Hong hosts two guests:

Ms Cherlyn Ng, 35, a video producer who has two young children. Ms Ng is also a young union leader with Creative Media Publishing Union, which is affiliated to NTUC. 

Mr Jod Gill is global employer services partner at Deloitte Singapore.

Highlights (click/tap above):

1:46 Should the SkillsFuture Level-Up Programme, which gives $4,000 to a Singaporean worker aged 40 and above, also in future, include workers in their 30s?

4:38 Cherlyn on how the new SkillsFuture Level-Up programme might in future, help young mothers restart their careers for example; Jod on the impact on younger workers

7:40 Thoughts on the financial support from the (Open Market) Voucher under the Parenthood Provisional Housing Scheme for young couples waiting for Build-To-Order (BTO) homes.

9:08 Would new subsidies for pre-schools be enough to push Ms Ng to consider having a third child? Pre-school subsidy indicative of inflation pressures on younger families?

11:25 Cherlyn on renewed support for cost-of-living measures like CDC vouchers and U-save rebates; Jod on how personal tax rebates can help cushion higher cost of living

15:40 Reacting to how ITE graduates will get S$5,000 when enrolling for a diploma, and a S$10,000 CPF top-up when attaining it

Read ST's Budget 2024 coverage: https://str.sg/6kzj

Produced by: Lynda Hong (lyndahong@sph.com.sg), Ernest Luis, Hadyu Rahim & Amirul Karim

Edited by: Hadyu Rahim

Follow In Your Opinion Podcast here and rate us:

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Website: http://str.sg/stpodcasts

Feedback to: podcast@sph.com.sg

Read ST's Opinion section: https://str.sg/w7sH

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Discover more ST podcast channels:

COE Watch: https://str.sg/iTtE

In Your Opinion: https://str.sg/w7Qt

Asian Insider: https://str.sg/JWa7

Health Check: https://str.sg/JWaN

Green Pulse: https://str.sg/JWaf

Your Money & Career: https://str.sg/wB2m

ST Sports Talk: https://str.sg/JWRE

#PopVultures: https://str.sg/JWad

Music Lab: https://str.sg/w9TX

Discover ST Podcasts: http://str.sg/stpodcasts

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Special edition series:

True Crimes Of Asia (6 eps): https://str.sg/i44T

The Unsolved Mysteries of South-east Asia (5 eps): https://str.sg/wuZ2

Invisible Asia (9 eps): https://str.sg/wuZn

Stop Scams (10 eps): https://str.sg/wuZB

Singapore's War On Covid (5 eps): https://str.sg/wuJa

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Follow our shows then, if you like short, practical podcasts!

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