If you don't live under a rock, you know the new craze is Pokemon Go. When I was little, I would steal my brother's playing cards of the 'cute' pokemon like Eevee, Oddish, Spheal, Plusle, Minum, and the 3 amigos: Squirtle, Bulbasaur, & Charmander. I mean, how could you not like them?!
Now, this app on iPhone and Android paired with real GPS signal has taken over and gotten people to get off their butts and go walking so they can find nearby Pokemon, hatch their eggs, and gain items from Poke-stops. Depending on how lucky your neighborhood is and where you are located; the chance of having a high CP level Pokemon pop up as you're sitting on your living room couch is not as common. This 15 year comeback for Pokemon has taken the world by storm, with the edition of choosing a team: team valor (red), team instinct (yellow), or team mystic (blue).
This game is sure a conversation starter, especially if you make friends by battling your Pokemon at gyms and succeeding, creating a group chat of your allies, or approaching a group of 5 walking on the sidewalk with their heads buried in their phones and abruptly stopping to catch a rare Scyther (it can happen - my cousin Logan got one, but he ran away when I tried). This blessing of reconnecting is really cool and although it may be just another addicting app on a mobile device, it can really bring people together.
I've heard stories ranging from 2 teenagers dating because of Pokemon to 2 men falling off a cliff in order to catch a Pokemon. Now, the first is cute - the second story is downright stupid. There's always a loading screen when an app starts up; whether the user reads it or not is their own fault. Let's take a look at Pokemon Go's warning:
So to those fanatics getting hit by cars, getting rear-ended, or falling off cliffs: you're letting this get too far. I always play while walking (okay, you caught me. BUT, if I am driving, I always have a passenger hold my phone for me and do double the amount of work to help both of us out.) Texting while driving is no longer the issue, it's wondering if someone is going to stop in the middle of the intersection or a freeway for a Pikachu or not.
Check out the sign issued by the Belton Police Department below: if we're having this many issues on the roads with Pokemon, then I don't know if the danger is worth it. The game just came out July 6th, and there are already fatal car crashes occurring in the wake of this game.
By no means am I going to stop playing Pokemon Go: all I ask is for you to play cautiously and intelligently so the risks don't happen to you or a fellow Pokemon lover. Gotta catch 'em all (safely)!
