And speaking of Farmville...

In my previous post about Facebook I mentioned the popularity of Farmville. This New York Times article from October 2009 gives a really interesting look at the popularity of the game, with this telling quote:

Of course, real-life farming is quite a bit messier and more dangerous than FarmVille (perhaps just one reason that FarmVille players outnumber actual farmers in the United States by more than 60 to 1). Yet some of the game’s biggest fans are farmers.

“I was having all these deaths on the farm and hurting myself on a daily basis doing real farming,” said Donna Schoonover, of Schoonover Farm in Skagit County, Wash., who raises sheep, goats and Satin Angora rabbits (real ones!). “This was a way to remind myself of the mythology of farming, and why I started farming in the first place.”

The article also describes other Farmville devotees, such as a medical transcriber in the Philippines who sets an alarm at 1:30 a.m. in order to wake up and tend to his farm. There seem to be two common threads running through the article...

Farmville is fundamentally changing how people structure their lives. Aside from the above example, the article also talks about several instances of how this addictive little Facebook game contributing to everything from poor study habits in college and university students to even marital tension. While, as someone who's been interesting in video games since I was young, I can related to to the can't-put-it-down feeling of being immersed in a good game, I can't imagine scheduling my sleep or social life around a game. The fact that people are so invested in Farmville seems to speak to an interest that goes far beyond simple fun, which brings me to my next point....

Farmville is an escape. This is what really stuck out at me. On the surface, the fact that so many farmers play the game may seems like one of those ironically funny things about the internet. When one farmer speaks of how the game allows him to experience the enjoyment of farming with none of its drawbacks, however, it speaks volumes about the game puts the player in his/her idealized little world. The article also hints at the idea of Farmville providing an escape from the bustle of urban life itself, which I do think is valid. With the onslaught of technology and business occupying life, it isn't hard to see how someone would long for what is perceived as a more peaceful existence. Farmville does seem to help people stop and smell the flowers, even if it is from behind a computer screen.