SINGAPORE, Sept 5 — Shoplifting among Singapore youths has risen sharply this year, with psychologists pointing to peer pressure, thrill-seeking and social media as key drivers.

Authorities said shoplifting was among the top offences committed by youths, and it also formed the largest share of physical crime cases recorded, Singapore-based news portal CNA reported today.

Police data showed 271 arrests of youths aged 10 to 19 for shop theft in the first half of 2025, a 41.1 per cent increase compared to 192 in the same period last year

“The reward centre of the brain ... is ‘highly sensitive’ during the teenage period,” educational and child psychologist Vivien Yang from Bloom Child Psychology told CNA.

This neurological sensitivity, she said, makes teenagers more likely to chase excitement even when the consequences are serious.

“Since they do not understand the reality of what they are doing, stealing and shoplifting can become ‘glamourised’ as a form of achievement,” John Shepherd Lim, chief well-being officer at the Singapore Counselling Centre, was quoted as saying.

The search for approval and identity among peers often feeds into the problem.

“(It) makes the immediate thrill or gaining ‘street cred’ from stealing so much more compelling than abstract consequences like legal trouble,” clinical psychologist Stephanie Chan at Annabelle Psychology was quoted as saying.

Social media has amplified the trend, with a 2021 viral TikTok challenge that encouraged students to flaunt stolen items leading to police investigations of teens in Singapore.

More than half of the reported cases involved thefts below S$50 (RM174), usually food, drinks and personal care products taken from supermarkets, minimarts and convenience stores.

Chan cautioned that “if such youths continue to slip through the cracks, it could reinforce the idea they have that stealing something cheap is acceptable.”

Experts added that low-value shoplifting can escalate into more brazen acts over time, as teenagers test boundaries and chase bigger thrills.

“These youths are not hardened criminals. They’re still learning about boundaries, identity and self-control,” Lim was quoted as saying.

He added that guidance and empathy are needed more than punishment.