Everything seems to be online these days. Log on to the Internet, and you can apply to schools, network and make new friends, watch television, pay bills and complete college courses. The idea is to make as many aspects of our lives as easy as possible.
That is one goal of stickK.com, a Web site meant to help people in their quests to lose weight, exercise more, quit smoking, or fulfill specific personal goals, such as to stop pirating music. But are motivational programs based in cyberspace only making it harder for people to self-improve?
stickK.com was the brainchild of two Yale professors. Equipped with the concepts of social psychology, they established a Web site that, by showcasing people's goals and progress in the public eye, might encourage people to fulfill those aspirations.
In a nutshell, you register online, publicly name your objective, and as a given incentive, can opt to sacrifice a prepaid sum of money to a charity in the case that you fail to meet your goal.
You report your own transgressions (there's quite a lot of faith put in the honor system), but, if you so choose, a self-appointed "referee" can also track your progress if you do not trust yourself to divulge your slip-ups.
I aced social psychology, so I understand how putting money on the line or being publicly judged drastically improves behavior. I am much more likely to follow through with something if I have already doled out the cash.
Like many people, I eat a whole lot less food when I'm dining with other people than when I am by myself; there is something about scarfing down ice cream sundae after ice cream sundae that embarrasses me when I am not alone.
But, when you are online, you might as well be alone. Your progress is monitored by a majority of people who don't know you from Adam. Thus, why care? The Web seems to be the last place where people treasure their reputations.
Why not stretch the truth? My Facebook hobbies include "running" and "working out;" the intent was always there, and I do exercise on rare occasions, but anybody who knows me would scoff at those hobbies. But hey, online you can write whatever you want, even if it is wishful thinking.
Why not rationalize that if you skip exercising today, you can exercise twice as much tomorrow, and call it even? Chances are that none of your fellow cyber self-improvers will see you either day.
Every January, I hear mention of gyms that refund money to users who actually follow through with their New Year's resolutions of exercising and losing weight.
That makes sense to me - you show up in person and visibly complete your goal, and hence receive your money back. Online, your money is returned for essentially alleging that you completed your goal.
Thus, to aid people who might be slightly less than truthful when evaluating themselves, the Web site suggests appointing a "referee" who monitors the participant's progress.
Supposedly, this is more efficient than simply making a pact with a good friend because he or she will often forgive your transgressions. But what difference does a referee make?
Unless you approach a near stranger and inquire "Will you be my referee?" you're probably going to appoint a friend or relative, which is even what stickK.com suggests.
And since we're not exactly talking about reporting mortal sin, if you say to your referee, "Hey, don't bother going online and telling everybody that I ate a pound of chocolate today," chances are that the referee might say, "Sure thing."
For many, taking a group approach to kicking a bad habit or improving some aspect of themselves can be a good idea. At the same time, online programs seem like a recipe for failure for a lot of people.
The anonymity may make it easier than attending Weight Watchers or Alcoholics Anonymous meetings, but the lack of accountability also may makes it easier to opt out of the quest.
Of course, there are those who can defy human nature and be entirely honest with themselves - but that type of person could most likely accomplish his/her goals without resorting to public evaluation and staking money.
Besides, there's something beneficial to belonging to a group of people whose faces you know and emotions you see, as you together confront problems or work toward achieving a goal. Innovative online programs are meant to help us in new ways, but maybe they just hinder people from actually achieving their goals.
Katherine Marr is a Collegian columnist. She can be reached at kmarr@student.umass.edu.
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