“Bright Corner” of Online Night

The world of night owls online has long been scrutinized under a lens of skepticism. Instances of downloading adult films, aimless chatting, and individuals “seeking romance online” have painted a dark picture of the nocturnal online community.

Consequently, nighttime internet users are often labeled as “unemployed and idle.” However, there are “professional” night owls whose work has been intrinsically tied to their online presence during the late hours. This is part of their lives…

The Sleepless Office

Ngọc Anh at the “sleepless office.”

Ứng Ngọc Anh (born in 1980), the representative office head in Vietnam for HI-TEK, the CEO managing the DOTvn domain, and the director of Fortune Company (which specializes in health monitoring cards and stress management). All of Ngọc Anh’s multiple roles require late-night work as the “headquarters” of these companies are based in the United States.

Ngọc Anh’s work schedule is packed even late into the night: from 8 AM to around 7 PM, then continuing from 11 PM to about 1:30 AM, sometimes even until 3 or 4 AM. Her biological clock seems unconventional as she consistently stays up late to work with her counterparts in the U.S.

Her private office has essentially transformed into a nighttime workspace equipped with all the tools necessary for “working” across continents: a connected computer, webcam, VoIP system, files, and company documents. She is always in a state of readiness to work at night, especially for important meetings and urgent projects. This constant vigilance is necessary because when HI-TEK in Santiago (USA) opens for business, it is midnight in Vietnam (winter), or 1 AM (summer).

During her student years, Ngọc Anh was already an “expert” in late-night online activities to enhance her knowledge and save on phone bills (as she had to use dial-up). Now, she still only manages about five hours of sleep daily. For Ngọc Anh, this is undesirable but unavoidable. Chatting on Yahoo is entirely work-related; she believes that if one is online just to chat for fun, that time would be better spent sleeping.

The Nightlife of Professionals

From left to right: Nguyễn Anh Tuấn, Nguyễn Thanh Long, and Lê Anh Tuấn.

The “white hat” group consists of four members: Nguyễn Thanh Long, Nguyễn Anh Tuấn, Lê Anh Tuấn, and Nguyễn Duy Hoàng, specializing in computer security research. Nighttime is the only time when Long, Nguyễn Tuấn, and Lê Tuấn (currently studying at the University of Science and Technology) can connect with Hoàng (studying IT in Singapore) while working at the same company (PeaceSoft).

“The online world at night is more vibrant than during the day,” Thanh Long remarked when discussing the nocturnal online lifestyle. “On my Yahoo! Messenger during the day, I have about 30 to 40 active contacts, but at night, that number regularly rises to 50 or 60. Two-thirds of them are friends from abroad.”

A moderator of a forum shares this sentiment. With a brother studying in the UK, he felt the need to “sleep during the day and stay up all night” to chat. “I thought I was the only one crazy enough to be online this late, but it turns out everyone is doing it!”

Long, who is 1.73 meters tall and weighs only 48 kg, admits to being nearsighted and typically sleeps about 3 to 4 hours a day. Does his slender build result from being addicted to late-night internet? Long candidly states, “Staying up late is clearly detrimental to health. My thinness is partly due to late-night hours, but it’s been my habit since 10th grade at the Vietnam-Germany School, which has been six years now.”

Typically, the three members of the group attend classes in the morning, work at PeaceSoft in the afternoon (in the software and security department), and finish around 6 or 7 PM. Once at the office, they are glued to their computers. Long mentions, “I usually prepare a cup of coffee by 9 PM and continue online, sometimes until 6 AM.”

The public’s perception of hackers often aligns with the experiences of this “group of four.” It’s truly when they become “netizens” with a high level of professional work: browsing security forums, reading e-books on sites like Security.com, GovernmentSecurity.com, Securiteam.com, completing unfinished tasks, and upgrading their group’s information management system. Thus, they are online at night to learn and work simultaneously. Even the forum they established is primarily maintained during late hours.

“The benefits of working at night must be significantly higher than what we achieve during the day,” Long remarked. “The quietness of the night helps me think and concentrate better on my work.” “More importantly, as knowledge is rapidly increasing, I have to dedicate all my daytime hours to work and classes; thus, night is the time I can acquire new knowledge. Without extending my learning time, I won’t keep pace,” Long asserted.

Late-Night Betting

“People who go online at night generally have two common purposes: playing online games and checking football information,” M.H., a reporter for an online newspaper, stated, identifying with the latter. “Betting enthusiasts often surf the web all night to watch football. Most of them sit in internet cafes, checking Livescore for real-time match results. Another favorite site is Soccerstand.com, which updates information even faster than Livescore, although not all avid bettors are aware of this site.”

With the intention of writing an article on online betting, M.H. has often delved into the world of late-night football viewing. He noted that some bettors spend hundreds of dollars each month to maintain accounts on specialized betting advisory websites. Thus, their nights are spent closely monitoring match information while weighing their betting options from various consultancy websites.

Those who bet on football at night usually “stay” at internet cafes with air conditioning for 5,000 VND/hour online. Several popular spots are located on Núi Trúc Street, near the Giảng Võ intersection… These cafes attract a diverse crowd of night chatters, from sex workers, drug users to young gamers engrossed in Võ Lâm Truyền Kỳ… For the betting crowd, regardless of winning or losing, many times it leads to extravagant post-betting activities: celebrations, parties, or “relieving their losses.”

M.H. shared that he has also spent several nights online betting, losing quite a bit of money in the process. He has come to realize that if one continues the “day job, night grind” lifestyle, it’s hard to sustain over time. Not only does “money earned easily also slip away,” but health also declines, impacting work the following day, as many matches end around 5 or 6 AM.

For M.H. now, late-night online activities usually happen at work, translating articles about football. This is almost an extension of his daytime job. Following football news and writing articles is merely a side job (as he is not a sports reporter), but it fulfills his passion for football. However, as he honestly admits, “the money earned from this is nowhere near compensating for the tens of millions lost in previous betting escapades!” By his account, he has spent many late nights online, and those nights have certainly “cost him dearly!”