Facebook games

You have 9 million Mafia War gift requests

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By Colleen McKinney

How many times have you logged onto your Facebook account and received a very similar notification? It seems like, as of late, Facebook games are taking over most users' News Feed. They're inescapable. But why do students play these games?

"They're incredibly boring but incredibly addictive," said English senior Michelle Browne, who likes to play Farmville. This seems to be the sentiment amongst most Facebook gamers.

According to a WAFB online article, Zynga, just one of the social gaming networks that can be found on Facebook, stated that 40 million people play their games. The article also claims that "the social gaming industry attracted an estimated $98 billion [revenue dollars] in 2008."

How do you escape the constant stream of lonely pink cows wandering onto your friend's farms? The Facebook privacy policy is of no help.

It states, "If you, your friends, or members of your network use any third-party applications developed using the Facebook platform, those Platform Application may access and share certain information about you with others in accordance with your policy settings." So unless you don't allow any information to be shared on Facebook, people will see your Restaurant City updates, and your friends will see yours.

Another promising escape from constant updates is Facebook Lite - http://lite.facebook.com. According to the Facebook page of Facebook Lite, Facebook Lite "help[s] you keep in touch with your friends more quickly and easily."

It's being developed by the same people who run the original Facebook but with less clutter and functions. You must have a Facebook account to use the preview. It looks like Facebook looked five years ago, without all the annoying updates.

However, by the appearances of computer screens in classes around LSU, some people would die if they could never play Bomboozle again. LSU professors and instructors are very generous with their computer policy by letting students use them in class, but some students abuse this privilege by surfing the Internet, especially Facebook. Instead of doing the crossword puzzle or Sudoku from the newspaper to avoid taking notes in class discreetly, students now explore the wonders of Facebook gaming with the annoying clicks of their keyboards.

Judith Myhand, Nutrition Instructor for the College of Human Ecology, admits that she has very strong beliefs about students who use their laptops for reasons other than taking notes, including playing games of Facebook.

"To me, it's a matter of respect," Myhand said. "I try not to take it personally, but it's hard to do that when a student is having a great time looking at their cell phone or computer."

Myhand also espouses an idea that almost every student has heard from a disgruntled professor at some point.

"Students who don't pay attention aren't getting what they or their parents pay for," she added. Even with the tight economy, students probably won't equate playing Facebook games with losing out on instruction.

If you choose to play Farmville during Anthropology class, be courteous to the other students. Your peers might struggle to pay attention with a 15-inch screen full of cute farm animals blocking their view of the professor.

Originally Published: Issue 821 - October 28, 2009

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