Farmville addicts anonymous
Hello, my name is Luke and I'm a recovering Farmville addict.
I guess my addiction started a few weeks ago. I decided I would try it out, just a few times, to see what it was all about.
A lot of my friends and even some of my family were doing it, so I guess that's where I got my first hit.
In the beginning it was great. I think the satisfaction of growing and harvesting your own virtual crops appeals to a lot of people, especially those in the city, like me.
I convinced myself I could quit anytime, but as the weeks rolled by, I saw my level growing in front of my eyes.
Late night sessions were the worst. "Just a few more short crops" I would say. Before I knew it, the beast had taken another 15 minutes of my life.
My dealer, who goes by the name of Zynga, did his best to keep it varied and interesting to keep me hooked. Every few weeks there would be new themed crops or decorations in line with holidays and major sporting events.
Zynga used a few different tricks to keep me coming back. He compared me with my "neighbours", giving a sense of competition. He offered seasonal promotions and he even gave me free items from time to time.
The most enticing part of it all was the fact that he didn't ask for a cent - except if you wanted the really good stuff.
After a while though, I started to realise what a waste of time it was. Worrying about withering crops, checking on them, endless clicking to harvest, plow and seed your land. It started to wear on me.
Then one day - I snapped.
"Honestly, what is the point?" I asked.
"There is a whole world out there are I'm spending time on a virtual farm?"
No more. I put my foot down and went cold turkey, removing the application entirely and blocking all requests.
The feeling of liberation was immense. What had begun as an investigative foray into this "game" ended up a daily habit which I was paying for in time. It all adds up.
There are now an estimated 80 million people using this thing they call a "game", and I'm happy to say I'm no longer one of them.
But being a user has given me an insight into how addictive Farmville is - it's designed to be that way. There are many subtle features designed to keep you coming back for more.
Those who have never tried it can't understand, but they're better off that way.
If you are one of them, take my advice - don't start. You'll be sorry you did.
Have you ever been a Farmville-user? What is it that makes this game so addictive? Has this game ever impacted on your personal life? It's OK, be honest, we're all friends here.
» Join Connector on Facebook, Twitter @lukeappleby or Email Luke at connectornz@gmail.com
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Why would you leave Farmville? It's better now than ever with collections that you get rewarded for, masterys for harvesting each crop, barns that you can raise, you can even build a village now that you can buy schools, shops and more....yes, I'm addicted. Every night I sit at my computer but not just playing Farmville, there was also Cafe World, Fishville and now Zoo World! I have over 100 people in my friends list I have never met just so I could expand my farm. I've seen other addicts come and go, but I just can't let it go.
Hahahaha it is so addictive. I freak out if I can't harvest my crops and they wither.
I would like to know how to delete my farm? I want to stay on Facebook, but I am sick of Farmville and want to get rid of it. Anyone know how to do it?
Recovered farmville addict here. I grew my farm to about as big as it can get without paying for anything. I got sick and tired of the repeditive clicking. You would ned to click 76 times to receive you daily quota of gifts and then hundreds more for ploughing/planting etc. I deleted the application and also blocked the application Liberation!
FBGA - facebook games annonymous is a group on facebook that helps those addicts to try and give up their monotonous meaningless face book games. Its a support group. Feel free to join.
FBGA - facebook games annonymous. we need more members.
Farmville! Ahh I used to be so addicted to that, playing it for hours each day to get bigger crops and stuff. My whole student flat did it and it was hard to stop. But I quit and haven't played a facebook game since.
I agree it's very addictive.
Yes I will admit I am a Farmville addict. I have been playing it for about 9 months now, and what started out as a harmless game now takes up about an hour of my time on a daily basis. Occasionally I will ignore the urge to play, and enjoy the liberated feeling of having my evenings free of late-night harvesting, but eventually the thought of having all my crops left to wither wins out and I spend a considerable amount of time making up for my neglect. I have not, however, reached the point where I will forego social activities in favour of a silly game, and I hope if that ever happens someone will slap me in the face :-)
I hate this game so much. No matter how much I try to ignore it, somehow it always ends up on my facebook. I dont want to hear about the cuddly panda, I want to turn them into a nice pair of cuddly slippers. I am totally fed up with facebook sending notifications that they are going to get rid of the notifications, but their they are again all 50 000 of them before I find the small post about the community meeting I was supposed to attend this morning or yesterday. If it wasnt for the amount of people who previously would have used listserv on there I would can the thing.
Ahhh, the sweet rush of farmville. Fortunately I only tried the intoxicating game once and was put off by the amount of time it used but my poor family have been enslaved to the game for over a year now. Hopefully one day they too will see what a time waster it is and attempt to kick the habit...I will have to refer them on to FBGA. :-)
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Yes one of my friends suggested i try it as she had been "using" for quite some time, so fool me i decided to try Farmville and Cafe world. About 3 months later im still hooked on Farmville, i got bored of the cafe game quite fast. Lately thoughts have been popping into my head as im clicking away Harvesting, Plowing then seeding that maybe i am over this addiction, maybe i can delete the application like i did for cafe world. I think that the day is getting closer, hopefully in the next few weeks i too will be able to go cold turkey.