Unless you've been living entirely under a rock until this moment, you have no doubt at least heard the words Pokemon Go. Whether it be in negative or positive light all depends on the side you've been hearing. Most media outlets have been blasting this new app for being dangerous and the cause of many injuries throughout the country. I've even heard one source try to blame the game when a girl found a dead body while playing. That one was pure luck and would have happened to anyone who was exploring nature.

So what exactly is Pokemon Go and why do we care? Well, it's a virtual reality game where you travel in your own neighborhoods seeking out all kinds of Pokemon from the gigantic franchise. These Pokemon tend to appear in random places with certain areas becoming hotspots. Along with hunting these little guys, you also get to fight for gyms that are located throughout your city and claim your spot as either Team Instinct (yellow), Team Mystic (blue), or Team Valor (red). This friendly competition has uniformly caused nerds who have been living in the dark all summer to hunt these spots out, seeing as you have to be within a certain amount of distance to use the place.

So how has this game benefited the community if kids are on their phones? Well, first off, the app calculates your walking distance and actually makes it a requirement for you to hatch Pokemon eggs, which are some of the only ways to find rare Pokemon. The app is smart enough to know when you're cheating with driving or biking, and doesn't count those kilometers toward your final distance. The three milestones you have to hit in order to hatch an egg are two, five, and 10 kilometers. The higher the distance, the better chance you have of getting better Pokemon. So not only does this game encourage you to get outside, but you have to move as well, and not just small distances either.

While fighting for gyms, most are placed in public areas such as parks and pavilions, which designate a certain spot you have to be at for the game to work. In order to reach this area, you usually have to walk at least part of the way in order to arrive there. Many kids often hang around gym areas, defending their team color with strong Pokemon and making sure no one else takes away their victorious right. While at these places, you can either meet people on opposing teams or your own. I know I've already had several conversations with people I would have never talked to had it not been for this app encouraging it. So many different kinds of people play this game that it is truly remarkable how quickly everyone has connected together.

Sure, the game may be on your phone, which may seem like it's defeating the purpose of being outdoors, but Niantic has done a very solid job encouraging kids to put the phone down as well while you're out. When you need supplies in order to capture more Pokemon or you want Pokemon eggs, you have to go to a Pokestop, which might be a dedicated bench, a museum, or a statue commemorating something important in the town. Along with the stop, the marker on the map tells you what you're looking at and why it's important with a short little paragraph about the history of the piece. I have learned a lot about my community by these stops, when previously I hadn't even realized they existed. It may be sad that an app is what it takes to get people to care even a little, but it's doing what needed to be done, and in a positive and encouraging way.

The only problems this app faces is stupidity by the owner of the phone. After all, isn't there an argument out there about how phones don't hurt people? People hurt people, or something along those lines. If you're going to stick to that logic, then you definitely can't argue that Pokemon is the reason behind these accidents, especially when the first screen you see every time you log on explicitly states to watch your surroundings.

So go forth, friends, meet people, take gyms and catch them all. It's your summer, so don't let anyone else tell you how to live it.