'Pokemon Go': The Good, The Bad And The 'Poke'
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Lifestyle

'Pokemon Go': The Good, The Bad And The 'Poke'

With all the good from the app comes some bad stuff as well.

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'Pokemon Go': The Good, The Bad And The 'Poke'

Hi, my name is Katelyn and my starter was Bulbasaur! Hey, my name is Brendan and my starter was Squirtle! We both love the game (despite the fact the server goes down maybe too many times a day) but we are here to give you everything that you need to know about this app. We are going to look at the good, the bad, and the "poke" for this game.

You've probably seen it every where: "Pokemon Go" either makes you entirely excited or you're already over the hype. Either way, it's here, and it's crazy successful. Personally, I love the game, and I've got to say it's benefitted me and millions of other happy future gym leaders.

As your stereotypical poor college student, I think "Pokemon Go" is wonderful and easily accessible because the app itself is free. That means free entertainment, free things to do with friends, and not a single dime spent in an effort to catch 'em all.

Speaking of free things to do with friends, the app is incredibly social. People have made friendships and gotten to know people in their communities at gyms and pokestops. This has made outdoor malls, parks, libraries, churches, and almost any outdoor area a fun hang out. The app is actually incredibly inclusive: Pokestops are open for any player anywhere. How cool is that!

Now, these pokestops and gyms aren't necessarily just a drive a way; sometimes you actually have to walkoutside. Especially if you're hatching eggs -- those 10K eggs aren't hatching themselves. Exercise for the win!


Remember those dorky family hikes you used to do when you were younger? Matching shirts and backpacks and the whole shebang? I can't tell you how many families I've run into playing "Pokemon Go" with their kids. So cute.

Not only is the game a great option for some family time, but it calls for some great nostalgia. This is the first time millennials are experiencing something from their past; yep, you guessed it -- we're finally feeling old.

In an age where everyone is phone-crazy and stress is at an all-time high for students and the job market, "Pokemon Go" provides a simple stress reliever from breaks at work and can become part of your daily routine.


I'm proud to say I'm trading Netflix binge-watching for exploring different cities for Pokemon. It's weird to think that going to the park or just walking around your town was something that we did as kids -- "Pokemon Go" is just reminding us that we can still do that now. I've been to brand new places I never knew existed in a place I've lived for 16 years.

Now "Pokemon Go" does have a ton of benefits, do not get me wrong. However, we do need to consider that with all of the benefits, the app does come with its fair share of problems.

The first (and most important) issue coming from this app is the fact that users are getting really, really reckless with playing this game. Honestly, is "catching ‘em all" really worth walking into incoming traffic?

Let me give you a good example (or three) of this reckless behavior I witnessed while I was walking to work a few days ago. I stopped at a red light and waited to cross the street to get to work on time. Suddenly, I see three people shove past me and, of course, they were on their phones.

It gets better. They just keep on walking and then all three of them nearly get hit by cars (which fortunately stopped for them). Once they walked back, I heard one of them say that this game is really addicting. First, if you are catching a Pokemon, you can stop to catch it since it will not move. Second, is catching a Pokemon worth nearly being hit by a car?

Unsurprisingly, this is not the first near-accident caused by the game. According to "The Daily Courier," the app is causing a lot more problems with drivers. There have been more incidents of trespassing, car crashes and just general bad driving since the release of the app. I thought that when people went to get a license, they were told the golden rule of not being on their phone while driving? I guess it only took one app to make reckless driving even more problematic.

Another problem with the app is the increase in robberies. You have probably already thought, “Well duh, of course. People are not paying attention so no wonder robberies increase.” That is true, but there is the issue of how the app itself is used to rob people. One such incident of this is how two teens activated a lure to draw in victims and then robbed them.

Based on the USA Today article, these two teenagers would utilize the app’s lure module. A lure module is an item that players can activate at a pokestop, making more Pokemon show up at the spot. These lures benefit all players near the stop, allowing them to catch any Pokemon that show up there. These teens would use this item to get players to go to the spot, then steal from them. In fact, this tactic worked so well that the teens got away with at least 11 robberies. Since there would not be any real way to prevent this, it could happen even more. Gotta rob 'em all, I guess?

While not as big as these other two issues, the other problem with the app is that it is a major battery drainer. I am not going to find some statistic for that since all players can agree on that. While this is a fun game, it can drain most of your battery with just a half hour of playing. This app will require players to constantly recharge or carry a rechargeable battery pack to play in order to still have phone power for texting or calling a Lyft or Uber when they walk into an unfamiliar place (something we were again told not to do as kids).

With any app, there is always the chance it will cause problems. Sure, "Pokemon Go" does have some pressing issues, but it is also being enjoyed by millions of players, even sprouting memes like this:

Or this:

Or even this:

Do you want to catch 'em all?

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This article has not been reviewed by Odyssey HQ and solely reflects the ideas and opinions of the creator.
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