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in defense of farmville

We know what you're thinking. Farmville is the worst. And "watermelon mastery"? Are you kidding me with this?

Sorry, let's back up. In case you don't have a Facebook feed that you check incessantly, Farmville is the most popular online game on the social networking site. Users create a farm, add animals, and grow crops -- and nearly every single achievement or defeat is chronicled on the site's front page. Facebook users complain that while they're trying to keep up with their friends, they're inundated with irritating updates about imaginary lost cows and "farm coins."

You can keep Farmville from showing up in your Facebook feed, but that hasn't stopped people from carping about it. (In fact, there was an entire "Dr. Phil" episode dedicated to Farmville addiction.) So we thought we'd ask Marika, a real-life Farmville addict, what all the fuss was about -- and whether or not she felt bad about glutting our feeds with her lost ocelots.

Answer? Not at all. Instead, here's her emphatic defense of Farmville:

Three reasons I don't care that you hate my farm:

1) Don't want to hear about Farmville? You don't have to.
There are filters -- Farmville may be a tumor on your Facebook feed, but it's a totally benign one. You LITERALLY can just ignore updates it with the click of a button. So do.

2) Facebook is for fun. Farmville is fun.
Let's not kid ourselves. Social networking is obtrusive and superfluous. It most likely isn't essential to your existence or your job. I know that you probably care more about whether your ex-boyfriend is getting married than the fact that I found a lonely pink cow, but please acknowledge that Farmville isn't the only stupid distraction on Facebook. (See also: pictures of your cat, updates on your kid and/or the location where your neighbor's band is playing on Tuesday.)

3) As far as escapism goes, this is fairly harmless.
So what if some BRILLIANT little point-and-click flash game is all that keeps me sane during the course of a nine-hour day? I'm not broadcasting pictures of myself shooting up. For me, it offers more of a sense of satisfaction than an actual "job well done" from the boss. You really want to take that away from me because it's showing up in your "news" feed?

Aaaand, that's how I feel about that.

Farmville: Love it or hate it? What do you guys think?

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