Long, long ago, we sat in our rooms wearing Sketchers on our GameBoy Colors playing Pokemon Silver. Now the newest craze has turned the pastime of our childhood into a virtual reality. Pokemon GO has transformed a bunch of nostalgic twenty-year-olds into wandering lunatics.
Now people can physically walk down the streets of our hometowns and catch Pokemon along the way. It’s every ‘90s kid’s fantasy.
Parents, no need to be alarmed if your teenager goes running through your neighborhood in the middle of the night. New drug craze? No, nothing like that. It’s probably just a wild ponyta.
I know what you’re thinking:
“You mean these weird kids on my lawn are playing a video game???”
That’s right, folks.
Now before you write off Pokemon GO for being weird or nerdy or totally pointless, let’s take a look at some of the good things that have come out of it.
First of all, it’s forcing hoards of young people to do something that Michelle Obama has been encouraging them to do for the past eight years: go run around outside. That’s awesome.
Finally, the generation of kids growing up watching TV and playing on iPads is going to see the real world. (Well, maybe they’re just looking at the Venonat on their screen, but at least they’ve left their rooms, right?)
This game cannot be played sitting in a bean bag chair or behind a computer screen. It requires effort. It requires serious commitment. And best of all, it requires physical exertion.
It’s also created a community of people that bond over having something in common. When people run into each other late at night wandering through parks and abandoned buildings, they can have a special moment when they make eye contact and say,
“Pokemon GO?”
“Pokemon GO.”
It might be a little bit strange, but at least it’s a strange form of socialization. And making new friends is good for America’s youth. It’s teaching them that they can find common ground with people that they normally wouldn’t interact with. It also reinforces the idea that just because someone is different than you, if you try hard enough, you can always find something cool about them. For instance, they might be at level 28. And you never would’ve known.
I think the most considerate thing that can be said about this new app is that it’s not the worst thing your kid could be doing. It’s not drugs. Or alcohol. Or anything illegal (Okay, some people may or may not have trespassed on private property). And it seems to be pretty fun.
Personally, I refuse to participate in this nonsense solely because I don’t have the time or energy to run around willy-nilly and catch mystical creatures with my phone. However, just because I personally don’t want to jump on the Bulbasaur bandwagon doesn’t mean I don’t think there are redeeming qualities.
And secretly, I sort of want to play. I could finally fulfill my 10-year-old self’s dream of catching a Charizard. I could be the very best, that no one ever was.
