I’ve mentioned this before but the internet is evil and keeps me awake at night.
Since then I’ve realised that the problem isn’t the computer, the internet, or anything that is posted on the internet. It’s me.
Yeah, yeah, obvious, I know.
So, what I think is really needed (something graybo hinted at in the comments to that post) is to add a human… wait! SOCIAL… factor. After all, isn’t these very social websites that are keeping us all up until the wee small hours?
One last check for Facebook updates, a quick peek to see if anyone else has twittered in the last 3 minutes, and maybe just a teeny tiny glance at the RSS feeds, all of a sudden it’s 2am. Again. And you are getting up in 4 hours and, for some reason, your employers expect an honest days work from you (we’ll cover THAT one another time).
What I’m proposing is some form of website where you and your ‘friends’ can monitor the fact that you are online. You’d set your preferred bedtime and, as and when you are spotted online at any of the social websites you use, your friends would be alerted and they could all start hassling you to go to bed.
Admittedly, such a system is not without flaw. For one thing the method used by your network of friends would most likely have to be something online which would, no doubt, led us straight back to square one.
“Ohhh a tweet from X telling me to go to bed… I really should!… ohh look… Y has updated and posted a link… *click* “
I’m sure we can work round that issue though.
Which leaves only one other problem with such a solution. Out of everyone in your network of friends, across all of the myriad of social websites, SOMEONE has to be last to bed, so who nags them when it’s 4am???
Bagsy not last!!