What are the dangers of being a "smartphone zombie"? Are legal penalties the only solution?

Fines and community service are the answer. The same should apply to cyclists who don't disembark and push their bikes at traffic junctions.

Lee Erich

Do we have the resources or manpower to mete out the penalties?

Shawn Koo

Take a civilised approach and educate the people. For this, it takes time to change.

Mark Sara

Do like the South Koreans and paint reminders on the walkways.

Harry Chia

Have a built-in sensor that can tell if the smartphone is in prolonged motion. It will then shut off the screen so a user can't walk and use it at the same time.

Liu INan

Is living in a kampung something to be desired? Can people in HDB blocks recapture the kampung spirit?

You can never bring back the good old days... it's gone, it's over. If it is recreated, it would be just a facade, for the sake of having the so-called kampung spirit.

Huang Wei Ming

Just say "hi" when you see your neighbours. That's the most you can do.

Annie Tan

Kampung life was hell. I was born in a kampung and lived there for 14 years until my parents got a rental flat from the Singapore Improvement Trust at $55 a month - a lot of money at the time, but worth it to get out of the kampung.

Fights, quarrels, bullying, extortion and so on were common. Gambling was seen at every corner of the kampung, and coming home at night was a safety concern. The words "kampung spirit" made me laugh.

Soo Tommy Leong

Life is more sophisticated now and people treasure their privacy more than being neighbourly.

On the other hand, much also depends on one's initiative to reach out to neighbours if one really wants to have that kampung spirit, but don't expect too much.

KM Chia

My mother grew up during the kampung era when neighbours looked out for one another... and they did so by being busybodies. They had their noses permanently stuck in your business and home affairs. Is that what the pioneers are missing?

I have never experienced that and can't, for the life of me, conceive of such close-knit levels of intimacy with non-immediate family members, much less neighbours.

Christina Teh