With the recent release of Pokemon Go taking the world by storm, more and more horror stories and criticisms of the app keep popping up on my Facebook newsfeed. From some idiot climbing onto the Union Station subway tracks to film a video, to people walking into oncoming traffic with their eyes glued to their phones, to criminals using the app to lure victims, and of course, the infamous Pokemon hunt at the Holocaust Museum in the United States, the message seems to be clear: Pokemon Go is at best a waste of time, and at worst a cause for dangerous or just plain disrespectful behaviour.
I disagree. The merits of Pokemon Go far outweigh the few people abusing the app. Pokemon Go has been out in Canada for barely a week and yet the positive effects I’ve seen in communities are obvious. Parks and public spaces are bustling with activity, people that probably would’ve been inside playing a different game behind a screen or just watching a lot of Netflix are outside, walking around, and interacting with their friends and their neighbourhoods.
There have been countless anecdotes by Pokemon Go players about the game’s positive benefits on their mental health. People with anxiety, depression, and a variety of other mental illnesses are finding the motivation to go outside and hang out with their friends. Strangers are striking up conversations with others about the game and sharing tips. It is a level of real life interaction that I haven’t seen in a long time. It might be silly to go outside and go Pokemon hunting, but it’s fun.
And of course, the physical health benefits are impressive as well. People are outside, walking around. The company behind the game, Niantic, created it so that walking around is not only the way to get eggs to hatch into new Pokemon, but it also increases your chances of having rare Pokemon spawn near you. In fact, the first person to catch all of the game’s currently available Pokemon said he lost 10 pounds in the process. The game is motivating a lot of people who may not necessarily exercise too often to get outside and get moving.
Furthermore, the game is bringing people of all ages together. From small children who get excited over every weak Zubat or Pidgey they see, to middle-aged businessmen who step outside during their lunch breaks to drop lures at Pokestops and catch as many new creatures as they can before they have to head back to work, people of all ages and backgrounds seem to be having a blast.
Despite the occasional distasteful playing, most PokeStops have allowed me and many other people to explore landmarks, statues, and little quirks in their neighbourhoods we have never noticed before. Case in point: there’s a gym near my job, and it is just a spray painted picture of the Monopoly man on a wall. It’s hilarious, and I had never noticed it before.
So maybe Pokemon Go isn’t quite what diehard Pokemon fans were expecting it to be. So what? Niantic says they have only released 10 per cent of the features they want. There are bound to be loads more to do going forward. Stupid people will be stupid either way, and texting and driving/walking have both been phenomenons far before Pokemon Go was even conceived. The game also helps you out by reminding you every time it loads to pay attention to the world around you; lest Gyarados eat you while you’re buried in your phone.
Who knows how long the Pokemon Go hype will last? I certainly don’t. But I think it’s fair to let people have their fun for as long as it does.
