By ADRIANA SANDOVAL | The Marketing Snack—

If you have ever had a Nintendo, then you probably played Mario. Who would’ve thought a video game about a little plumer could have so much appeal?

I personally have to admit it’s my favorite game of all times. I’m not the video game-kind-of-person, but I played the Nintendo, Super Nintendo and Nintendo64 Mario versions when I was little—sorry, my geek is showing a little.

So I started thinking and realized that Mario could be more than just a game. It actually might have taught us a few things—good and bad. Here are 4:

We are/should be rewarded for our efforts: From saving Toad and Princess Peach to kicking Bowser’s butt, hard work should always pay off, right? Well social media sites like Foursquare and Facebook certainly saw this as an opportunity rather than a problem. Users who are majors of a place (Foursquare) or become fans of something (Facebook) are many times rewarded with exclusive prices and and goodies. Check out this article on how a San Francisco cafe is using Foursquare to bring in more customers.

Save your money, buy a life: It’s too bad we can’t get an extra-life after collecting 100 coins. Wow, the importance of money taught at such an early age…—just kidding, but you have to admit one thing: most of our generation is flat-out broke. From student loans to credit card debt, late teens and young adults today have no dinero. The economy has really hit us hard, and most of us are/were overspending—guilty. We might be starting to learn the importance of saving money, but getting those precious golden coins is still one of our top priorities.

Save the earth, no matter the obstacles: While Mario fought Bowser, Bloopers or Bob-oms—I know, what’s up with all the B’s—we’re fighting pollution, poverty and famine. Our generation is more environmentally conscious than the previous ones, and just like Mario, we’re using all our weapons to reach the main goal—including fireflowers and starmans.

You don’t need to be tall, dark and handsome to be a hero: We all know Mario doesn’t have the “typical” hero-look. He’s chubby, short and doesn’t talk much, but he’s the one chosen to rescue the princess. This only tells us one thing: being a hero is not about looks; it’s more about courage and love, or in this case friendship.

I think we’re starting to get the message. Look at Shrek or shows like Family Guy or The Simpsons, where the main characters aren’t always the most attractive ones. Even though some people may disagree, we are less superficial. I mean, don’t tell me otherwise when, today, being a geek is what’s cool—If you don’t believe me, check out NBC’s article Why Are Geeks the New Chic?.

So it looks like the time we spent playing Mario didn’t go unnoticed. It left a mark in social media and the way we think, act and play. You’re probably thinking it’s all a coincidence, but I kind of want to believe the game that for over two decades was the best-selling video game of all time goes beyond the thousands of fans and a possible addiction.