Why Singapore’s Obsession With Speed Is Leaving Some People Behind
Efficiency has made us rich. But in the rush to digitize every interaction, we are losing the patience required to care for our most vulnerable citizens.
The queue at the POSB branch in Bedok Central is spilling out the door.
Inside, a digital ambassador—young, earnest, wearing a polo tee—is trying to intercept an elderly lady holding a passbook. He points to the shiny Video Teller Machines (VTMs). “Auntie, can use machine. Faster. No need queue.”
She shakes her head. She clutches the passbook tighter to her chest. “I want the counter,” she says. “I want to see the person.”
She waits forty minutes to withdraw $200. The machine could have done it in two.
This quiet standoff mirrors a broader shift already visible in everyday spaces like hawker centres and kopitiams, where long-standing habits are being reshaped by speed and automation
(as we’ve explored before).
To a consultant, this is inefficiency. It’s a bottleneck. To a sociologist, this is a distress signal. Singapore is sprinting towards a digital utopia, but we are dragging a significant portion of our population behind us, scrapping their knees on the pavement. The question we need to ask isn’t “How can we make them faster?” It’s “Why can’t we let them be slow?”
The Tyranny of Speed
We are obsessed with frictionlessness. We want “seamless” travel, “contactless” payments, “invisible” security.
But friction is where human connection happens.
When you remove the cashier from the supermarket, you remove the “Have you eaten?” exchange. When you force a senior to order via QR code, you remove the hawker’s ability to recommend a dish.
This erosion of informal human touchpoints has been unfolding gradually
(and not always visibly).
We are designing a city that works perfectly for the productive 30-year-old executive and barely functions for the 75-year-old retiree with cataracts.
We treat the “analog” way of doing things—cash, counters, paper forms—as a problem to be solved. We call them “legacy systems.” But for many, these aren’t legacy systems. They are safety nets.
Why This Matters to the System
Singapore’s competitive edge has always been agility. The government pushes digital adoption (Smart Nation) to overcome our small size and lack of manpower.
But as efficiency becomes the primary design goal, people risk becoming secondary
(a pattern increasingly hard to ignore).
A society is not a corporation. A corporation fires employees who can’t keep up. A society is supposed to care for them.
The real tension lies in balancing economic imperative with social cohesion.
The Argument for a “Slow Lane”
It sounds counter-intuitive. Why build a slow lane in a fast city?
Because kindness requires time.
Some countries are already doing it. In the Netherlands, supermarkets introduced “Kletskassa” (Chat Checkouts)—lanes designed to be deliberately slow, where conversation is part of the service.
In Singapore, we often move in the opposite direction: closing branches, removing ATMs, and discouraging human service through longer waits or added friction.
| Approach | The “Smart” Way (Current) | The “Kind” Way (Proposed) |
|---|---|---|
| Goal | Maximize throughput / Speed | Maximize inclusion / Comfort |
| The User | Data point to be processed | Human needing assistance |
| Failure | User error | Design flaw |
| Example | Cashless-only hawkers | Hybrid payment systems |
What This Means for Residents
This isn’t just about seniors. It’s about anyone who has a bad day.
The “Vulnerability” Test:
Lose your phone. Run out of battery. Suddenly, you can’t board a bus, buy food, or log in.
A system that demands constant digital readiness is brittle. A system with analog fallbacks is resilient.
The Burden on Families:
When institutions move too fast, families slow down to compensate—taking leave, offering tech support, absorbing stress that systems no longer handle.
Official Context
The government’s Forward Singapore exercise highlights care and inclusion. Agencies like the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) have urged banks not to leave non-digital customers behind.
🧠 Editor’s Bottom Line
A Smart Nation shouldn’t be measured only by speed.
It should be measured by who it is willing to walk with.
Efficiency without dignity is not progress—it’s exclusion.
