GROW: Farmville vs. Real Life Farming

  • By Kyle Valentini
  • February 21, 2012
  • 951
                        
Summary: Comparing the online social simulation game Farmville to real life farming brought about some surprising results. We could all learn a lesson in how well we treat each other with games that promote helping your neighbor and sharing extras with those in need. Farmville is a social simulation game created in 2009. It allows players to cultivate their virtual farms by plowing, planting and harvesting crops and trees. Players care for their farm animals by milking their cows and collecting eggs from their chickens. Players can visit neighboring farms as well. Farmville was the top game by daily active users on the social network Facebook between August 2009 and December 2010 with more than 80 million monthly players. Its popularity has waned but still has a loyal following and players have more options than ever when it comes to virtual farming. The virtual world does not imitate real life often when you compare farming in cyber space to the down and dirty world of real life agriculture. A striking difference is in gender. Real farmers are typically male and about 57 years old according to the Unites States Department of Agriculture. Only 13% of real farmers are women. In the virtual world of Farmville, the average online farmer is not only overwhelmingly female at 60%; she is also only 43 years old. Ann Kassos of Youngstown is a 42 year old mother of three. She works in her husband’s family-owned meat shop and enjoys reading and computer games including Farmville. “I like it in that you can leave it for a few days and come back to it. It is simple fun, and they have limited edition little games you play during each holiday to win awards like collecting different Valentine items from your friends,” said Kassos. Although not a farmer by any means, Kassos does grow some food. “I do have various things I grow. Last year I planted blackberry bushes along our fence line. I grow tomato plants and beans in big containers. This summer my husband Matthew and I will build a raised bed garden. The kids have decided they want to learn how to grow things. Living in town we have a small backyard so space is limited,” said Kassos. Farmville does imitate real life when it comes to crop failure although it is easier to control in the virtual agricultural world. “I tend to lose crops when the growing time is less than six hours on Farmville. I get involved doing real life things and forget about them,” laughs Kassos. “When the time is two to eight days on items I do better at finding time to hop on Farmville.” Virtual farmers make more money than their real life counterparts, with an average salary of $50,000, real farmers are only pulling in an average annual salary of $35,500. Online farmers choose different crops than the variety chosen in the real world for instance, sugar cane is the top crop grown in the real world but in Farmville players prefer Strawberries. In the real world strawberries are nowhere near the top ten. In the first 15 months of its existence, Farmville farmers had farmed 500 million acres. Currently in the real world of agriculture, 930 million acres are farmed to accommodate the needs of the population and the farm animals that require food. According to the National Corn Growers Association, about eighty percent of all corn grown in the United States is consumed by domestic and overseas livestock, poultry, and fish production. Corn doesn’t make the Farmville top crops list at all and chances are players are not growing the crops that become their feed. According to the New York Times, Farmville farmers outnumber real farmers 80 to one and some of those players might be real farmers. While the famous maker of green tractors is selling 5,000 tractors a year to farmers, 500,000 tractors are sold daily in Farmville. Suffice is to say, Farmville, albeit very different from the agricultural real world, still plays a vital role in the economy as its parent company generates huge profits. Farmville and games like it attract players because they are universally enjoyable. Some players take it too far and can actually become addicted to the game. “I know some people are addicted to it and panic when they know they might not make it in time to harvest something or finish a task. I tend to play when I need a moment to sit or when I am up at night and can’t sleep,” said Kassos.


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