Join in with your neighbors
Published 2:23 pm Friday, July 30, 2010
The explosive popularity of the online game Farmville offers a compelling study of the modern human psyche — specifically, the juxtaposition between solitary pursuits and the human need for social interaction.
With an estimated 61 million active users, the game allows players to build elaborate fantasy farms in imaginary communities, rewarding the skillful development of virtual “relationships” along with robust vegetables and healthy livestock.
It’s amazing that millions of people will log on and play for hours, yet resist saying hello to real neighbors they pass on the sidewalk. People seem eager to care for a stranger’s virtual farm, but not to invest any of their personal time to improve their own neighborhoods.
Connecting individuals within communities in an effort to fight crime is the primary goal of the National Night Out, sponsored by the National Association of Town Watch. Tuesday night, they’re urging folks to consider socializing with their neighbors instead of turning on their televisions and computers. The majority of the cities and towns in Snohomish County have registered to participate through the National Night Out website (www.nationaltownwatch.org/nno). Here’s a sampling of planned activities:
Citizens in Mountlake Terrace are encouraged meet at the Evergreen Playfield Complex between 6:30 and 8:30 p.m. for a range of activities designed to encourage community interaction. Last year’s event (which drew nearly 700) earned an “outstanding participation award” from the National Association of Town Watch.
McGruff the crime dog and Baylee (Arlington’s K-9 officer) will appear at events planned between 6 and 8 p.m. in Arlington, where residents can choose between two different sites: downtown at City Hall Plaza or at Fire Station No. 48 on Smokey Point Boulevard.
In addition to a variety of neighborhood-specific activities in Everett, all residents are invited to join the police department in the Top Foods parking lot in South Everett between 5 and 8 p.m. for free food, games and a chance to visit more than 60 educational booths to learn more about the crime-deterring resources available to citizens.
Since its inception in 1984, participation in National Night Out has expanded to include an estimated 15,000 communities with more than 36 million individual participants.
That number could easily double this year if the residents of Farmville would put down their virtual farm implements and step away from their keyboards for just one night.
