Farmville Nerd? – G2KM Day 6

Do you remember the days when Packman was popular?  I do. I got sucked into that game in my college years. Eagerly, I dropped my quarters into the stomach of a metal box to maneuver a little yellow over-sized smiley face through a maze eating dots or gobbling up the opponent and trying to avoid getting eaten up myself  I played this game so much that at night when I would go to bed, I had the game theme music and dreamed about Packman.  I kid you not. Was I addicted? It sure sounds like it.

After I winged myself from Packman, it was years before I even looked at another arcade game.  My husband and I did get a Nintendo in the mid-80s, but I never got hooked on any of the games.  Years passed, the Internet was born and so too was social networking, which in turn offered virtual gaming.

Let’s face it, it took me forever to get a Facebook account.  Everyone was asking me, do you have Facebook or sending me an email invitation to get connected.  I just saw it as a huge boring waste of time.  Hello…what planet was I living on anyway?

How more wrong could I be.  Once I finally caved to my curiosity of seeing what the  magic was behind Facebook, I was soon invited to be neighbors with friends in Farmville.  Hey, it seemed harmless.  My friends kept saying, “You don’t have to do anything if you don’t wanna. Just sign up and be my neighbor coz it would me.”  I thought, “Okay…I can do that.”

Little did I know the trap that was being laid for me while I innocently clicked to accept the application on my Facebook profile.  Before I knew what was happening, I began virtual farming.  Plowing virtual dirt, planting virtual crops and harvesting virtual vegetables.  Soon, I began accumulating Farmville coins to buy animals, or trees, or buildings, or gifting Farmville items to neighbors who’ll gift back.  While all the while,  I plowed, planted, and harvested more crops. I’ve added my Facebook friends I’ve known for years as my neighbors, requested strangers on the Facebook network who play Farmville to be my neighbors,  and have sent invites to my Facebook friends who do not play in hope they’ll join my madness as it would help me even if they do nothing other than by simply being my Farmville neighbor. Now, where have I heard that before?

I know what you’re thinking, you’re thinking, “Whoa Cathy, sounds like you have a little problem here.”  I wouldn’t go so far to say I was a Farmville Nerd, despite what my children thought. For awhile, I did have an ever slight addiction…I mean a problem.  The game controlled me.  I couldn’t stop thinking about what I need to do to get to the next level in the game.  I became frustrated.  That’s when I realized, “Hey you big goof, it’s just a game.  If you’re going to do this, then chillax and have fun. Don’t let it rule you.

With my new mindset, I am now able to farm at my leisure and not get so caught up in the craziness.  There is still a lot of plowing, planting, and harvesting going on but it’s about just chillaxing while helping other Farmville neighbors.  After all, doesn’t it feel good to help someone else?  I think so, even if it is in cyberspace and nothing is real.  The friendships are and that’s what counts.