A few days back, The Pokèmon Company released their newest addition to their franchise by means of an IOS and Android compatible app. With the combination of a cell phone's GPS and camera, it is essentially the closest Pokémon hunters will come to catching Pokèmon in real life. Hunters are able to walk around their neighborhoods, malls and nearby landmarks, and if a Pokèmon appears, then it shows up on your camera as if it is actually there.
I have, in fact, downloaded and played this game, but I have no intentions of keeping it and making it my new obsession. I actually find the game very confusing to the point where the game is not enticing to me -- someone who was a Pokèmon fanatic as a kid. Regardless of whether or not I like the game, there are millions of people out there who are playing it, and will probably continue to play it until they "catch 'em all".
A lot of people support the game and how it has taken over the lives of teenagers and adults alike, using the defense that it is keeping users physically active. I believe that that is a major cop out excuse as a way to support this new craze. Some even say that this is the biggest factor to have a positive impact on the childhood obesity rate in a while. Guess what? Walking around in circles while staring at a small screen does not count as physical activity! Sorry! Go dust off your bike and go for a nice ride! Maybe even take in some of the nature around you!
I was recently walking with some friends to our neighborhood carnival. Just walking. One or two of us may have had our cell phones out in our hands, but we were not using or staring at it. While on our way to the carnival, a car drove by, saw us walking and yelled out, "Pokémon!" Yes. They simply assumed that a group of teenagers walking outside automatically meant we were playing Pokémon. We have gotten to a point in our society that we are not used to seeing people actually walking outside and getting in some physical activity, that everyone thinks everyone is just out playing Pokèmon!
I have some food for thought for those of you currently obsessed with "Pokémon Go." I am not recommending that you quit playing it all together. Just do it in small doses. Yes, it is exciting that we can actually be Pokémon hunters in real life (almost). But please. Put that phone away once in a while outside, and look at the people you pass by. Say hello to them or give them a smile. They are not pixelated creatures, they are real humans who are more important than that Pikachu you want to catch.
