How I deleted Farmville and took back my life
Farmville is one of the most popular games on Facebook. It is a flash-based game in which you develop and maintain your own farm. In order to be successful, you need to get followers or neighbors who will help fertilize your crops, feed your chickens and will send you gifts. In return, you do the same for all your followers. You also need to regularly plant new crops, buy new animals and trees and harvest them in order to earn money to buy items like vehicles and houses for the game.
My Farmville addiction started out very slowly. I noticed a few friends had added Farmville and were playing regularly so I thought I would give it a try. For months I just had a handful of neighbors and my farm grew very slowly.
Christmas
Then, this past Christmas, Farmville introduced a Christmas tree in which you had to collect 100 Christmas presents to fill your tree. Since I had so few neighbors, I was collecting gifts slowly. So, I posted on the Farmville.com forum asking for neighbors. Within a few short days, I had more neighbors than I would want. Of course, I had to add all these people as friends on Facebook. So, in addition to Farmville stuff, strangers were invited into my life.
I did reach 100 Christmas tree presents before Christmas Eve. But, Farmville began to feel more like a chore than a game. For one thing, there were so many status reports about the game that it began to take over my front page and I was missing status reports from my real friends. The game has so many status messages that many have begun to hide them on their Facebook front page. I was spending more and more time on Facebook just collecting bonuses, sharing bonuses, sending gifts, fertilizing and helping out on neighbor’s farms. And then there is the upkeep of your own farm and having to harvest before your crops die and harvesting your animals and trees.
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My life was suffering
Everything was starting to suffer; my writing, my reading, my interactions with friends and even my TV watching. I began avoiding Facebook more and more often just because I didn’t want to face the status reports and the gift requests. I began to feel guilty if I couldn’t harvest all of my friend’s farms.
So, one day I just said the heck with it. I deleted the Farmville application, I unfriended all the people I had added just through Farmville, and believe it or not felt guilty for about 10 minutes. I felt I had let these people down. But, I got over that quickly and went back to spending quality time on Facebook. I only kept 2 game applications and I started getting back in touch with friends I felt I had neglected. I had never conversed with any of my Farmville neighbors other than through status popups from inside the game. Of course, some of my “real” Facebook friends still play Farmville. But some of them are getting tired of it.
Notice Rawlus in the trailer, he is not a Farmville player...at least I don't think he is
Do you play Farmville
See results without votingIt's easy
It is very easy to get addicted to a game like Farmville. It first starts out as a way to relax, to escape the stresses of the working world and quickly becomes something you have to do every day and sometimes five times a day. In my opinion, it really is a “time thief”. There are so many more productive ways to spend your days online or offline.
I am glad I took the step to escape Farmville. I am back on track with my writing and with keeping in touch with friends and relatives. Yes, I do play some games. But I choose games that I know I will not play for hours on end.
You can do it too
Are you a Farmville addict? Do you need help to escape this time-sucking addiction? You can get that monkey off your back and it doesn’t involve rehab. Just delete the application. Come on, you can do it. It’s easy. It’s not real.
Comments
Thanks for commenting girly_girl. There are just so many status updates that Farmville expects you to post in the course of every visit. Thankfully, people can hide those status updates. More and more of my friends are deleting it.
Never heard of it till now...sorry but your articles is great, we do what makes us more productive.
Thanks
Lol I never play it but jeeez I am send requests, offers and everything else about this game on Facebook. I used to be addicted to Red Alert and and Sim City, deff ya get engrossed in these type of games, well done on breakin the addiction ; )
Well I have never played farmville my addiction is the facebook itself
I never played Farmville, but I played another game with medieval knights that I got sucked into, but you had to play just about hourly when you got to the top. I finally weaned myself of completely.
So that's why we haven't seen a lot of you around here. Well I'm glad you're off the sauce. I have to severely limit game time. It's amazing how addicting a game can be. Right now I'm working my way through Bricks of Atlantis. I actually paid the $20 for the deluxe version. I try to choose games that develop some skill that I'm missing - like hand-eye coordination. But i only get to play 30 minutes a day.
I weaned myself off it sometime ago as my friends were commenting on how many notifications they were getting and getting annoyed! I used to like the animal noises, but it is definitely a complete waste of time IMHO.
I can't handle the games and writeing too, so I only use Cafe World occasionally. Thumbs up!
Some of my (grown up) kids do this... I know better than to start-- because I already have real chickens, fruit trees and a vegetable garden.
I think it is a lot better than some of those games where you blast everyone and their stuff to pieces-- but I think I would get too drawn in.
oh Rochelle what kind of chickens? Ive always wanted some little guineas like my grandmom had but man they were messy!!
Uninvited writer I love your writing!! I looked at farmville a yr ago or so when some my friends were doing it but didnt like it...I do admit my favorite games are mahjong (which I am NOT good at but love it) and bookworm...I made it to wordhoarder on bookworm :)
but thats onlythe last thing at night...either game makes me soooo sleepy/better than a toddy :)
Thanks for all the great comments. I tend to get addicted to games and can play for hours. I just play Word Twist and Bejeweled now on Facebook, and Bejeweled not too often anymore either.
It is fun the few times I play it, but I always forget about it and my crops die. I have a short attention span for video games, and one time at the optometrist the lady giving me a video game simulated exam told me to think of the clicker like something out of a video game, but then I had to tell her I have never really played any. I like Farm Ville more than other video games though, but I think Internet addiction, movies, and books are more my thing.
I get so annoyed by all the people asking me to become their neighbor or help them find a pig or whatever...I am so thankful I didn't even start playing that game!
Girl this was the most entertaining thing I have read today!!!! I am so posting this on my facebook. My dad even plays this game. The video is a hoot. Thanks a bunch.
Tammy
Uninvited, I know my own weaknesses so I have never even looked at Farmville. I had a problem once with Tetris, all the while telling myself that it was good for me, taught me about the mechanics of spacial relationships.
I'm still playing this game. But i didn't find it that addictive. I just spend 10-15 minutes everyday and sometimes no time at all. I used to get addictive to MMORPG games like ragnarok, and now completely stopped with ragnarok since then no other game made me that addictive. Some of my FB friends are addicted to it, so i'll linkback this hub to them.
I saw that photo of Charlie up there! :) Anyway, as I mentioned in my email, I am also an ex-Farmviller. Whew! I think we both were on it at the same time and got sick of it just about equally. I didn't delete it, but don't go on FB at all any longer.
HP is not a time-thief.
Regards, and enjoy your renewed sanity!
I had to buy my wife a cheap laptop just to get her off the TV (I have my second PC linked to the TV!) - we call it the Facebook Laptop!
I love farmville! I play farmville, cafe world, farmtown, and mafia wars regularly, and a few others sporadically. I also play bingo. I love to play games, it keeps my mind active. Sorry that you deleted, but you gotta do what's best for you. Good hub.
Great hub. I was shocked when I realized that people spend real money to advance in these FB games! Your article has encouraged me to stand strong in my resistance to "Cute Baby Calf" gifts .
As I said-- I don't want to be drawn in, but I really should be promoting this since one of my sons works for Zynga, the company who produces the game.
Jeez, if I was thinking of playing Farmville, reading this hub will make me change my mind in an instant. Very good, honest hub UW. I got the video's URL and put in my Facebook. Your hub went to my twitter :). I posted a blog on accountants / auditors playing Farmville and other games while working. And I was shocked by a reply. One of the commenters posted that he / she can do it since his / her work is also spilling in his / her personal life, and why not the other way around? Tsk, if that's the kind of thinking some people have, well I just don't know. Sorry for the rant. Great hub, thumbs up and thanks! :)
I use facebook but have never even played Farmville, and now for sure I won't. Thanks for the info.
Thanks for commenting everyone. It's basically up to everyone to make up their mind whether or not they want to spend a lot of time playing a game. As I said, I still play a couple of games on Facebook. Word Twist is my favorite. It could be becoming an addiction because I'm playing at least one game a day with friends, but they don't seem to mind. It is a Zynga game Rochelle :) Jenyca, I only bought cash once and that was in aid of Haiti.
I too play Farmville, but have become a bit annoyed with it because it takes so long to load. As for the notifications on friend's walls, just don't agree to post every time you hatch an egg or find a baby calf. You're right, it can be addictive, but its a matter of self-discipline. It can also be a relaxing way to spend a few minutes in the evenings - just don't let it take over your life. The world will not come to an end if you don't harvest your crops or brush your kitties. Have a great day all!
Thanks for the great hub! I'm still laughing because everyone treats me like a snob for not playing these games. In fact, I hardly even go on FB anymore because it's become such a waste of time!!! I don't care how much wine my in-laws drank last night and that people had to rush their children to the bus this morning. And not only Farmville and the other games, but FB itself always seems to take too much time to load! Enjoy your day!
I keep geting all kinds of requests from "new friends" through old friends,now I have a lot of friends!
Great hub. I know so many people addicted to Farmville, Farmtown and all the others. I tried it once, but my crops died:( Apparently you’re expected to check every 20 minutes. Nuts. Don’t have time.
hahahahaa.. ROFLMAO! I know people that play farmville religiously... forwarded you link to them... thanks
So I posted this hub on my FB page and I actually had a few friends who decided to quit Farmville after reading it!!
Hah, hah! I enjoyed the video. Thanks for reminding me why I've been avoiding Facebook.
It's too hectic to attend to your farms every 4 hours, every 8 hours or even once a day. The plots can be more than 400 but there is a way to do it faster though. There are programs that can help you plow and harvest.
i am not adict yet i think i only start a couple days ago but in only one day a pass a 5 hours playing that was a head ache .
I am an addict of Farmville and having read your article I am going to delete it. Thank you!
Awesome Hub as always! I never play games on-line because I also get addicted too quickly. Between the kids, husband, pets, college, and writing I just cannot allow any distractions right now!
Nice hub. I played Farmville up to a point that I found it boring and I simply stopped.
Nice hub. Of course, there are both online gaming and Facebook categories. You might want to think about getting it into one of those.
This is one Hub I'm saving for my daughter to read, she's totally addicted to Farmville.
I am glad I never got into the facebook games and applications.
I don't play this game but i know how this kind of stuff can steal you a lot of time... a game is a game... should take you 1 - 2 hours a day.. MAX... not more... it become work otherwise...
Thanks to farmville I now know which of my friends are timewasting idiots lol.
Thanks for sharing your experience.
I never played farmville, but another silly browsergame and it took me 3 month to recognize how much time I am wasting with that stuff.
did you trade your farmville addiction for a hubpages addiction? :)
My HubPages addiction has been going on for 2 years now :)
Farmville has a sneaky way of sucking away your time without you even realizing it. I had the same problem. Any video game that demands you to come back the next day isn't healthy. You should be able to set it down and not return until you are ready to. I quit the game, but I took the less direct approach; I just left the game stagnant without any new crops. I left it that way so I wouldn't feel guilty about leaving it. I convinced myself that I could come back if I wanted to, even though I doubt it will ever happen.
I also sometimes feel a twinge of guilt from all the apps and invitations and requests and gifts sent to me which I hardly respond to. But I do respond to emails or messages left on my facebook page though. I am glad I never took up farmville and I was smiling all the while reading your hub. Great decision...:) LOL
I do play and I think you brought up a lot of good points - you have to be very careful not to waste a lot of you time on FB games.
But, just for anyone who might want to know, you can "hide" application post on your own page - so you never have to see a Mafia or Farmville post again. Just go to the upper right hand corner of a game announcement and click "hide." It will give the option of hiding your friend or hiding the game.
As a player, I try really hard not to spam my non-playing friends, but I do want to help my friends who also play.
Oh, and Ripplemaker, you should not feel any guilt whatsoever about ignoring game stuff - no one (at least no one I know of) would ever be upset with you for not being their farm neighbor or whatever.
We all have become so much engrossed with this virtual world that most often we forget about our real friends and family nice liked your take on that.. thank you for sharing
Thanks for this, My wife made me nuts with Farmville for months. She quit, and is still in recovery. I sent her this link. She really got a kick out of it too.
Informative Hub!!!!!!!
On facebook Farmville is immensely popular game. This game is based on flash. Here the individual can develop and maintain his own farm. Thanks a lot for sharing so nice text.
Way to go!! I'm not addicted to it, but use to play it too much. Now, I find that it's a bit boring...same thing over and over. I play only when I want to now, but I do know of some people are seriously addicted. It's good to know that you can gain control again.
You are right on the Point. I use Facebook, very honestly, to keep up with my kids, other family and certain friends. My wife and I travel a lot in our RV, and this is where I get a lot of my photography and writing ideas. But ..... increasingly, when I log on, over 2/3 of what I have on my page are different game status' for many of them. THOSE GAMES ARE indisputably ADDICTIVE. Anyway, very good Hub, I enjoyed it.
Perfect to end the night of pulling my hair out due to trying to get that damn game back on. I can't find it, I am lost. But hell with that. Maybe I can work on getting laundry done now.
I'm addicted to Farmville so I can definitely relate to this Hub!
I haven't started - great Hub! I will stick to my Hub addiction! Thank you so much for sharing! I wondered what it was all about.
I also deleted my Farmville application in Facebook. I always felt compelled to check on my farm and the crops. I also got tired of getting gifts and feeling obligated to reciprocate. I don't like feeling compelled to do anything that does not make my life better.
This is a wonderful hub. At first glance it seems ludicrous that you would be talking about a game - but I know that it is NOT ludicrous! I am one of those people who hid posts about Farmville (also Mafia Wars) on my facebook home page. I never even wanted to see what it was all about. I just kept thinking "How can these people (friends and family members) get SO involved with a game?????
Thumbs up on a funny yet all-too-real hub! My best friend is a FV addict - she needs to read this!
Been there done that! At one point, I was hooked on Farmville, Farm Town, Restaurant City and Cafe World, all at the same time! When I opened B.T.'s FB account it got twice as bad. Responding to requests was feeling like a big responsibility, and I felt guilty when I started to ignore requests. I got over it, though. I rarely even go to FB these days.
Congrats on beating the Farmville demon, UW. I'm glad things are back to normal for you!
Wow! That is too true! I play Kingdoms of Camelot on FB, and at some point it quits being fun, and gets to be high-maintenance. I wish the developers would find a balance for this.
Bravo! Good job! I am so glad that you wrote this and am forwarding it to my family of farmville people who do not understand why I won't send them back cows, pigs, trees, . . and whatever else it is that they are asking for. Thank you SO MUCH!!!!! ;-)
OMG, I have four friends addicted to Farmville. They have nothing else to do because they're not working right now. I spend my time either chatting with friends on Face Book, watering my patio garden, or writing articles for Newsvine or Hub Pages. Never did get into those damnable online games though. Is Farmville turning into some weird cult??
I think it must be...I have a friend I never hear from since she got hooked on Farmville :)
Interesting perspective,I know I have alot of Facebook friends addicted to Farmville too. I guess you have to always be on the lookout of how you spend your time and keep it in perspective of what your big picture goals in life are. If it doesn't fit it is up to you to make a change. Thanks for your story of how you managed that and what the outcome was.
I am very happy to live my life without farmville. Nice hub tho:)
Uninvited Writer you showed great G&D by getting out of Farmville after getting into it so heavily!
I have never played Farmville and never will. I made it my policy many years ago to not join any on line games as I firmly believe that they are are great waste of time. If I do have spare time I would prefer to spend it with my family.
i had deleted my nursery barn my mistake how can i get my barn back.Please tell me
I don't know, I haven't played it since they brought that in.
Great Hub - Well done for kicking the habit
I agree games does not give us money and it is bad for us.
Great hub!!! I think these games are fun at 1st then they get addictive then one day you laugh at yourself and stop playing!!!
Good for you! I don't really see the point of staring at the pc for so long just to play games.
Exactly, who has time for all that. I never play the games. Thanks for the helpful information on deleting farmville. :)
There is a southpark episode about this. I always wanted to try it.
Farmville and other Facebook apps are most of the reason why I canceled my FB account. Get a life already!!!!!
I just want to delete Farmville from my laptop!!
to get farmville status reports of ur homepage just go into edit options on ta bottom of ur homepage.
I am also playing FV, and I still like it. But I can understand you, because sometimes I also hear about people who got totally addicted to FB games, and they forget that they have a life "outside" as well. I think you will never get addicted if you have much work to do and if you keep yourself or someone else keeps you always busy.
Cadiesel: I also saw that SP video, it is fantastic and really entertaining!
I agree with everyone!
I just wanted to share the same good news on the web when i found this post.
After I reached lvl 90 a few days ago it was really a hard pill to take after these hundrets and hundrets of hours spent in the game. several million of farmille dollars on my bank and nearly every crop mastery didn't mae the decision easier.
But i had to to it. Didn't feel better than now for weeks.
When you are at a high level it's hard to quit, but do it, feels great.
Respect to all leavers ;)
Peter
PLEASE, Face Book people DO NOT send me ANYTHING to do about Farmville, Mafia Wars or any others!!!!! I DO NOT play ANY of them. Thank you!!!
This reminds me- I have spinach crops to harvest right now!
I know several people that are hooked on this and I don't get it. I would love to farm because I love the outdoors but not virtual.
I'm not into facebook either. Many have tried to get me into that and I refuse. I have too many things going on in my life than to sit down and probably interact with people I don't know.
Good for you if you felt that was interfering with your life.
I just recently gave up the farm on Farmville. I was spending way too many hours on it each week. I did make it to level 93 after too many months of playing it. Now if I could just give up Bejeweled and Texas Holdem poker I would be able to get so much more writing done in a day. Enjoyed reading your hub.
I fully agree Farmville disturbes whole your retinue work and life.and makes you lazy.
I started with the addicting game, but my sweetie wanted to show me exactly HOW to get more crops and timing ( so my failing crops had a fighting chance) and all that stuff...
IT BECAME WORK...
then slowly, HE started getting on and taking over my farm...I just lost all interest. I will say that he got my farm real nice..Christmas trees and many cows and chickens.
I have had enough of farmville it is taking up too much time and it keeps locking up I thought it was only on my Monzilla account but it has now started on Goole acount as well so I am goin to get rid before I put a hammer thrugh my machine in fustation.
I haven't played it! I do get addicted to games quite quickly so I avoid the facebook ones.
One year we got the sims and it wasn't long before I realised that it was just too absorbing. I suppose that is a success for the game makers but it isn't good for peoples health in the real world.
Jesus I never thought I was going to get my life back! I'm so glad I deleted it. It's a great game but it has got to be the most addictive game in history.
If you're a non-gamer, don't you know you can block the app? and not see the updates? If people want to play games, leave them alone and let them play (known as minding your own business). Or be judgmental and announce how superior you think you are because you don't play. Is it worse than sitting down watching people running around playing with balls for hours, spending cash to watch movies or keeping up with the pretend lives of tv people you don't even know? If you enjoy making fun of people who play FV, you might want to make sure you are perfect enough not to be a hypocrite. Just my opinion.
I was commenting on my own personal experience. Where did I say I was judging those who play the game?
I'm sorry, I read a lot other comments that were calling players idiots. You were NOT critical and I didn't mean to direct my comments at you. Just got a bit carried away. I even agree with you that we spend too much time playing an addictive game and may need to quit "cold turkey." I keep trying to cut down -- without much success -- and may have to delete the app. Someday :)
I have actually experienced the same thing but with Empire Earth, the famous strategy video game.
Umbelievable the amount of time it took from my life. I really had suffered before I got rid of it. Useless to talk about the damage it caused to my social life.
I remember the day I quit, it was amazing!!! I've never looked back and I don't miss it. I actually wrote a hub about Entering Zynga Rehab! I enjoyed your hub:))
Thanks Sunshine. I am off to read that hub, I'm currently playing 2 Zynga games :)
I kicked the habit..haha! My latest addiction is words with friends:)
Me too :) zynga poker and Words with Friends are mine now
I know, you keep beating me!! Lol
There were several games on facebook that I had to walk away with cold turkey. It was hard and I missed it at first, but I did get my life back! LOL! and then I lost it again with hubpages! LOL
Just found this article! A few days ago, I wrote about Skinner's Box and how it relates to video games. Zynga (the creator of Farmville) is a prime offender of using psychological tactics to get people addicted to their games.
Hence why I don't play any of their games. There used to be a cool virtual trading card game owned by Challenge Games, but when Zynga took them over, I stopped playing. :/
exact same thing happens to me everytime i consider playing any computer games. i get addicted to it. so as much as possible i try not to play. i have started farmville also but glad i was not hooked. but for a time i have been playing resorts world. got me addicted too. however, glad that getting over with the game naturally dawned on me. but somehow i learned something from those games. that was the best part. but getting hooked and addicted to it? i dont like it a bit... glad you shared this!
is there a way of deleting someones farmville and blocking them for ever. its busy destroying their family.
girly_girl09 2 years ago
Thumbs up - Great hub. I hope more people delete farmville! I abhor facebook apps. I've never played but there are always notifications from Mafia War or Farmville in my friends' feeds...obviously there are a few people on my friends list that are addicted because I see their notifications all the time.
That might be another good thing for 'app addicts' to think of - you are probably annoying your non-gamer friends!
Glad to see you were able to kick the addiction. These type of games thrive on people feeling compelled to play in order to not 'let down' their friends. Chances are, your real life facebook friends are glad not to see the updates. :)