BTO Telegram groups connect thousands in new kampung spirit
When the renovations were done in June 2024, other residents were curious about how his flat looked, so he hosted an open house for around 20 neighbours.
The 50-year-old had met his fellow Tengah residents through Telegram and was keen to share his experience with them, so they could make decisions about their own renovations.
"I enjoy bonding with the residents from our chats... I believe sharing is always a good thing to do in life," said Mr Lim, who works at a fast-food chain.
He has since become close friends with the neighbours he met on Telegram, going for meals and exercising with them. They even volunteer together at the Tengah Community Club, helping out at events such as family day, award ceremonies and workshops.
Mr Lim and his Tengah buddies are among an estimated tens of thousands of Singaporeans who are members of resident-run Telegram groups for BTO estates here.
There are no official numbers of BTO Telegram groups, but they can be easily found by searching on Telegram or BTOHQ, a community-run website sharing information on local properties. The size of each of these groups can range from a few hundred to thousands.
Such groups started to gain popularity over the last few years when demand for BTO flats surged in 2020. Around the same time, Telegram also gained traction here as a messaging platform.
While residents of BTO projects also form chat groups on WhatsApp, another popular messaging platform, such groups have proliferated on Telegram, likely because it allows up to 20,000 members, compared with WhatsApp's 2,000 members.
Telegram's large group size limit allows a chat group to be created for an entire BTO estate, rather than just for one block or specific resident interest groups. Members can also chat in different channels created within the group.
WhatsApp also allows members to chat under different topics.
While Mr Lim's Telegram group has 1,300 members, he does not know all of them personally. He got to know the residents who reached out to him individually on Telegram and sometimes even meets up with them.
These groups serve as hubs for information and commonly start as a way for residents to get information on their BTO projects and seek advice on everything from BTO queue numbers to various Housing Board policies and schemes, to estate amenities.
After residents move in, many groups evolve to become avenues through which residents socialise, trade items and share updates on estate developments.
Such groups are usually created by one or more residents before the BTO's balloting stage, and are open to members of the public. Residents can also volunteer to run smaller BTO project groups from the larger estate group.
At Punggol's Northshore Residences, one resident said he set up the BTO estate's Telegram group as an information hub for his neighbours about a year before they collected their keys in 2020.
The 39-year-old project manager, who wanted to be known only as Jerry, said residents would join the group to be "in the know" as there would be discussions about project milestones.
Some residents, such as Mr Yong Ming Rong, 35, have found such groups useful for getting advice on home furnishings.
The private tutor, who lives at Northshore Residences, had initially sent a message to neighbours in his BTO Telegram group to give away some coffee powder.
He later told another resident in the group that he was considering getting solar film to cover his windows, and the resident invited him to her home so he could see what solar film on windows looks like.
"It helps to build a bit of a kampung spirit knowing there are people who can answer each other's questions," Mr Yong said.
Tengah, a relatively new HDB town with 18 BTO projects, has a number of Telegram groups, including one with around 10,000 members.
The group that Mr Lim runs allows members to chat across 17 different channels on topics such as childcare, gardening, group buys and home-based food businesses.
Through Telegram, another Tengah resident, Mr Chris Loh, met others in the estate who, like him, love gardening.
The 44-year-old senior operations executive said some residents would occasionally reach out to him through the app for help to propagate and pot their plants.
"When you like something or there is a common topic, you want to share. For example, sometimes when you work from home, people ask if you want to eat lunch together," he added.
Freelance photographer Chan Kai Lun created an estate health and fitness Telegram group where Tengah residents organise activities such as group runs.
"Without this space to voice out and share, most people would remain isolated, only (saying) 'hi-bye' with the next-door neighbour. But I have made many good friends in Tengah through Telegram. It makes a real difference," said the 42-year-old.
Unlike WhatsApp, Telegram allows its users to maintain privacy as phone numbers are not needed to create accounts.
Dr Vincent Chua, an associate professor in sociology and anthropology at NUS, said Telegram groups are a way for people to balance maintaining privacy with being sociable.
Mr Thomson Lim (right) and his Tengah buddies are among an estimated tens of thousands of Singaporeans who are members of resident-run Telegram groups for BTO estates here. ST PHOTO: LUTHER LAU
Pointing to how these neighbourhood online groups tend to focus on exchanging information over relationship-building, he said it is one way the kampung spirit among residents has evolved - it has become "quieter but still present" through the way residents show support for one another online.
Dr Chua added that building strong ties is still possible when online interactions are paired with or lead to offline interactions.
"They nourish each other. Support online translates offline. Over time, they blend and human relationships become friendships."
Tengah resident Cyrus Xu, a 32-year-old additive manufacturing engineer, linked up with his future neighbours on Telegram in 2022, even before choosing his unit. He collected his keys in March 2025 and still keeps in touch with them.
"We get to know what our neighbours are up to if they are keen to share, and can ask for help at our fingertips," said Mr Xu. "I have got to know many neighbours from all the blocks."
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