Farmville Has Unemployment to Thank
17 Feb
I have a theory.
“Uh oh!” Thats what my husband says whenever I tell him I have a theory. Hes not one to care for theories – which is why I post blogs instead. ;)
But seriously – I have noticed a distinct correlation between the rise in Facebook app usage and the continuing unemployment rate. Specifically Farmville.
I am stunned by the amount of time and energy that many of my Facebook friends spend pouring into their faux farms, looking for harnesses and horseshoes or whatever it is they need to complete their stable. Aquariums also seem to be a rising trend, but Farmville currently takes the cake.
So who has this much free time?
I know that some of these people do have jobs and simply play these games in their spare time, but I believe that this initial growth trend was spurred by the massive amounts of free time so many began to have once layoffs started to make their way through the ranks. Enough to where people began to notice the constant posts about their unemployed friends’ farms – to where they started snooping around to see whats what.
And then after a few months of more people being home bored with no work to do, they begin to find ways to occupy themselves. It starts with joining Facebook in the first place – and Facebook’s usage has continued to grow, with boomers having the largest increase in adoption as of late. So they discover a way to fill this time, something that satisfies this need to be doing something productive – such as running a farm and interacting with peers.
Below are a few charts supporting this claim.
What are your thoughts on the factors contributing to these growing trends? I’d love to hear your take!
Farmville Growth to Date
Facebook Growth by Generation
US Unemployment Rate to Date
