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I don't think we should expect Facebook to change. We need better tools that allow people to stay away from it (and other such distractions in future). We need

I don't think we should expect Facebook to change. We need better tools that allow people to stay away from it (and other such distractions in future). We need tools that help people understand how to manage their internet time better. They need to understand what kind of emotional costs (which will vary a lot) are associated with extended FB usage. And such tools will ideally be browser addons. Imagine a browser that I can configure based on my weekly goals. There are domains I want to avoid. There are domains where I most want to be (for that week). And some neutral domains like search engines. Maybe assign weights to these. Then over the week, browser reminds or guides us towards most productive behaviors. If our behavior is inconsistent with our initial goals, it assigns heavier penalties (like block domain for a week) for those negative domains. There are many interesting implications once someone starts thinking about some of these options. But at this point, I don't see exciting innovation on this.

csydas 10y ago
Though I do find your intent admirable, I think that it's misplaced - the reason there's no innovation on this front is because these sorts of time management tools are entirely dependent on the self-control of the persons they are targeted for, self-control issues being the reason they're glued to Facebook in the first place. While such a time management tool may benefit a small few, the majority of people at a computer just don't seem to care too much - heck, even today many users need to be compelled to install an adblocker and to keep their software up to date -- imagine trying to convince that user base to also restrict their ability to go places online voluntarily. Change has to come from within as an actual want - you have to want to be running every day to lose weight, you have to want to practice every day to learn an instrument or a language, and the type of change you're discussing has to come from an internal want to actually disassociate from Facebook and its ilk. Right now it's not so much that people don't want Facebook so much as they're not sure what else to do - the centralization of the web into a few major hub websites has left a lot of people completely lost as to what being online can actually do for you. You can see this effect all over the place - just watch how many people will upvote a "betterment" thread on reddit or imgur filled with free learning links, but never actually take the time to follow through on these threads. The few that do are the exception, not the rule. As great as it would be if we all learned a bit more self control, mindlessly browsing Facebook is the new "TV on in the background" and has been for awhile.
sthatipamala 10y ago
RescueTime does exactly this.
- zerotimer 10y ago
  First of all, separate app isn't the same. Secondly, it just gives reports. That's a passive action. The "guide towards more productive behavior" part of my comment meant that actively tries to stop you from negative domains or push you towards better domains.

csydas 10y ago

Though I do find your intent admirable, I think that it's misplaced - the reason there's no innovation on this front is because these sorts of time management tools are entirely dependent on the self-control of the persons they are targeted for, self-control issues being the reason they're glued to Facebook in the first place. While such a time management tool may benefit a small few, the majority of people at a computer just don't seem to care too much - heck, even today many users need to be compelled to install an adblocker and to keep their software up to date -- imagine trying to convince that user base to also restrict their ability to go places online voluntarily. Change has to come from within as an actual want - you have to want to be running every day to lose weight, you have to want to practice every day to learn an instrument or a language, and the type of change you're discussing has to come from an internal want to actually disassociate from Facebook and its ilk. Right now it's not so much that people don't want Facebook so much as they're not sure what else to do - the centralization of the web into a few major hub websites has left a lot of people completely lost as to what being online can actually do for you. You can see this effect all over the place - just watch how many people will upvote a "betterment" thread on reddit or imgur filled with free learning links, but never actually take the time to follow through on these threads. The few that do are the exception, not the rule. As great as it would be if we all learned a bit more self control, mindlessly browsing Facebook is the new "TV on in the background" and has been for awhile.

sthatipamala 10y ago

RescueTime does exactly this.

zerotimer 10y ago
First of all, separate app isn't the same. Secondly, it just gives reports. That's a passive action. The "guide towards more productive behavior" part of my comment meant that actively tries to stop you from negative domains or push you towards better domains.