OMG! That’s all I have to say. Actually, when I saw the new Social Media Sobriety Test application for review, I laughed. I guess a lot of people have one too many drinks and then post silly comments on their Facebook walls, I thought.
I remember a long time ago “drunk texting” a friend and being very silly on my end, but that was the extent of my “drunk texting” days.
When I told the women in my office about the new application, they thought it sounded great. “All my friends would want to use it,” one of the women said to me.
How does Webroot’s Social Media Sobriety Test work?
I decided to install it and give it a try. I blocked my Facebook usage from 10 pm to 4 am. I figured if I was sober, I wouldn’t have trouble answering the questions and if I was drunk (which I wouldn’t be) then I shouldn’t be on Facebook.
The other night, I came home around 10:30 pm and turned on my Facebook account. To my surprise, there was the Sobriety Test. It asked me to count to 30 within 30 seconds. If I were five seconds off, I would lose.
“1, 2, 3, 4, 5, …..” I said out loud as I watched numbers and flying objects on the screen trying to confuse me. I was five seconds off and failed the test. The application wanted to post that I was intoxicated on my Facebook wall. What a horror! And I wasn’t even drunk!
I tried the test two more times before I got so annoyed, I found a watch with a second hand on it and finally passed the test and was able to get onto my Facebook wall.
A few nights later, I came home around 11:15 pm and turned on my computer. I signed on to Facebook and the Social Media Sobriety Test popped up on my desktop. I immediately went to get my watch with a second hand. I was ready for the challenge. To my surprise, the test was changed. This time, it wanted me to type the alphabet backwards in 30 seconds. I don’t even think I can type the alphabet forward in 30 seconds!
The Webroot’s Social Media Sobriety Test doesn’t only work with Facebook. You can use it in conjunction with Myspace, Twitter, Flickr, YouTube and more. The motto is “Protect yourself online when you’re most vulnerable.”
I don’t want to sound preachy, but you know what, folks? If you are going out for the evening and having a couple of drinks, come home and go to sleep. Forget about the computer!
Related articles
- Product Review: Social Media Sobriety Test (blogcritics.org)
I would be a lot better off if they had created this and applied it to ATM machines back in the 1980s. And I'll just leave it at that.
LOL! I hear you!