By now you should be fully aware of what Pokemon Go is, (if not, where have you been?) It's all over every social media site, the news, and as I'm writing this it's been downloaded an estimated 7.5 million times!
As a 19 year old, pretty much everyone that I know and am friends with are playing/ obsessing over this game. This is because most of us were born before or around the time the TV show came out and grew up with it, along with the original video games. Pokemon the TV show released its first episode April 1st, 1997. Now in 2016, Pokemon is currently rapping up its 19th season. As for the Pokemon video games, since 1996 there have been 15 released games. (Pokemon Go being the 15th installment.) This November they'll be releasing a 16th game though, for those of you interested.
There's no doubt that Pokemon has been wildly popular and successful, so it only makes sense that Pokemon Go would take the world by storm.
Now, for the actual good that I think that this game is doing. I have 2 younger siblings, one is 14, and the other is 11. Typically they stay inside all day watching TV, listening to music, etc. Really the only time that they want to go out is when we're going swimming. Since this game has been released , they want to go out and do things so that they can find more Pokemon, gyms, and poke stops.
Also, this isn't just a game that kids are playing. Like I said, pretty much everyone that I know and am friends with are playing this game. Friends of mine who hardly ever just go out and walk around are saying they've walked miles a day playing this game, or that they've walked around parts of their town that they hadn't even seen before. I don't know about you, but I'm not aware of any other video game on smartphones that make people want to get out of their houses and explore.
Also, Pokemon gyms and poke stops bring in and attract so many people, so when they go to these locations they can physically interact with others and end up making friends. I've even seen Facebook events created for Pokemon Go meet ups. Regardless of age, race, or gender you get to see groups of people that you know you share at least one common interest with.
Just a few nights ago, I was at dinner with my family and our waiter was this 22 year old guy. While he was checking up on us, he noticed that my little brother was playing the Pokemon Go game to see if he could catch anything near him, and he instantly freaked out and started talking to him about how awesome he thinks the game is. He even gave my brother some tips and told him where he's gone and caught a lot of Pokemon. I don't know, I just thought that it was really cool that this 22 year old guy wanted to keep coming back to our table to talk to my little brother about the game.
With all of the hate and negativity shared throughout media on a daily basis, I love seeing stuff about the game and the individuals playing on my news feed. People of all ages going out and getting excited about a video game, (if they're not excited for themselves, chances are they're at least excited about it for their kids), and it gets them to be a little more active while playing it!
As long as everyone playing is being careful and are aware of their surroundings, I honestly think this game is doing some amazing things.
