Yesterday I was at a 7-11 with Samuel, and there were several people ahead of us in the two lines. I heard a woman buying $80 worth of something and for a second, I assumed it was for gas or some of the liquor or cigarettes stored behind the counter since she wasn't holding anything in her hand to purchase. But then I realized she was buying one of those pre-paid Farmville Cash cards! $80 in cash to play with fake money on a virtual game!
I couldn't even begin to assimilate all the swirling thoughts in my disbelieving brain....about a minute passed and the line moved forward slightly. And then I saw another woman paying $60 cash and pointing to the selection of Zynga virtual game cash cards, as well! "Umm, that one....oh wait, no, THAT one right there," she directed the store clerk. I'm certain this was one of those rare moments in my life time when I was truly speechless.
I fumed all the way home.
I've been known to play Farmville. There, I admit it. It used to be a fun way to enjoy my morning coffee and sort of click around, gathering my thoughts for the day. Once the coffee was done, that was it. DISCLAIMER: I never, ever, ever, once used a credit card or any other means to purchase 'cash' or 'coins' to use in the game. Also, the game got too complicated and began taking up more time than it took for me to finish my morning coffee. I simply quit playing it. Done.
I just do NOT understand how some people can spend REAL cash on ludicrous things like this! I mean seriously people....you don't get ANYTHING in return! You are paying for a pixelated image that exists in cyberspace! I am not an advocate for the lottery, which is another waste of time, but AT LEAST with a lottery ticket you could possibly win SOMETHING, right? I don't play the lottery but from what I understand, besides the huge jackpot there are smaller prizes; you can play scratch-off something-or-other and win anything from a couple of dollars to maybe a few thousand. At least in this case you are likely to win real legal tender....unlike the virtual world where you are buying...what?!? Faster growing crops? More horses to go into your virtual barn?
This is the thing that really gets to me: Hawaii is suffering greatly in this recession. It has already impacted me because as a way to save money, our brilliant leaders decided to shorten our school years and introduced "Furlough Fridays". Kids stay home and go untaught except for the efforts of parents like me, who are fortunate to stay home and try to homeschool our kids. State workers have been furloughed, meaning that on those Fridays, state offices such as the DMV, etc. are closed. Many of my friends are state employees and these unpaid days are hurting them. And then recently, they announced that Police officers would now have rotating furlough days, as well! So we are sacrificing not only our educational system, but now our protective and security forces.
I know about the crime and all the other negative aspects of allowing legal gambling in a state, and so far Hawaii has voted down allowing everything from the lottery to casinos. I have agreed and will continue to hope that we keep that element out of our state. However for the sake of honesty, I will admit that the thought crossed my mind: if dumb heads are willing to throw their money away for computer-generated avatars that only benefit a company like Zynga, wouldn't it be better to have a way for those people to throw their money away in a way that will at least benefit our own state economy?
Bottom line: we are struggling, people. So many of my friends are scraping by, depending on hand-outs from our church food bank supply or public welfare programs. There are people even in my church without a home; they live in a tented-off area of a family members' carport. The whole state is deeply in debt.
And yet, here I find myself trying to understand how there can be IDIOTS out there who spend so much money on....nothing.
OK, end of rant. Sorry for the negative and raging blog post but I seriously needed to get this out of my system!
Illinois is considering shortening school weeks too. we do have casinos...lots of them, and our state is still in major debt. it's sickening. the first things they are cutting are education. they laid off 70 teachers in one county already. chicago schools art and sport programs have been downsized and are at risk of being cut all together. it's pretty pathetic how corrupt IL government has been over the years. they have really screwed us over! hopefully HI can pull through this w/out having to cut too much more.
ReplyDeleteWhat is up with our society becoming obsessed with "pseudo reality"?
ReplyDeleteI rant and rave to Nate about FB, teenagers with earbuds attaching themselves to the ear canal tissue, computer games, virtual gaming systems, text vs phone calls, lack of face time, reality TV...
It's everywhere. It's contagious and it robs us of our relationships.
And I find myself guilty of it too...
Bleck.
I had NO idea that you buy stuff for farmville?!? I've never played it so I'm clueless. Crazy. Yeah, I'd be kinda mad. $80 would buy a whole week of groceries for me.
ReplyDeleteAnd BTW...I think I know someone who played the lottery once or twice. No names or anything. xoxo