Pokemon Go. It’s a thing, and I have some thoughts.

For the uninformed, Pokemon Go is the latest in viral mobile app games from our good friends at Nintendo. This is their first foray into mobile games, a previously untapped market for Nintendo despite the obvious connection between portability and video games. Pokemon Go is an augmented reality game that uses Google Maps to place pokemon – small cartoon creatures that “trainers” (you and me) must catch – into “real life.” Trainers travel around, following a meter that tells them when pokemon are nearby, and when one appears in their vicinity the hunted pokemon appears on the screen, using the camera to make it appear as though it’s actually in front of you. Once you capture it in a pokeball, those red and white spheres that are so familiar to children and 30-somethings alike, the pokemon is added to your arsenal. You join one of three teams and battle your pokemon against the pokemon of other teams in order to gain control of various “PokeGyms” that are scattered around the city.

For the purposes of this post, that’s all you need to know, but in reality there is So. Much. More.

I’ve seen a multitude of social media posts gently poking fun, expressing sheer delight, claiming ignorance, and sometimes just plainly ridiculing the people who choose to capture Pokemon. This is something new for the whole world – no other mobile phone game has affected the world like Pokemon Go; it has already surpassed Twitter in daily active users after a mere few days. If you choose to play or not to, or you’re wondering whether you should let your kids play it, I’d like to share some insights I’ve had after having it installed for 36 hours.

1. Physical Activity

I downloaded it on Sunday afternoon and, that night, while taking my phone into the neighbouhood for the first time, and only planning to check out the PokeStop closest to my house, I ended up walking through my community for over an hour. On day two, I walked another 5+ km searching campus and my neighbourhood for Pokemon. I’m not alone. I’ve met other “trainers” on my walks, and they all say they’ve been spending more time outdoors. In a world where we’re constantly talking about fitness and connecting with nature, using Pokemon Go as a catalyst for physical activity is not a bad thing. Here’s an article about people complaining about sore legs after playing:

http://gizmodo.com/sore-legs-become-pandemic-as-pokemon-go-…

2. Social Interaction

As mentioned above, on my Poketravels, I’ve met dozens of other trainers who are out doing the same thing. We talk, we share information about where the best pokemon can be found, we chat about which team we’re on (Team Mystic!), we learn each other’s names. Somebody dropped a lure at my local PokeStop last night, and within five minutes of me arriving there were at least eight of us standing and chatting on a street corner. Kids are even setting up lemonade stands at PokeStops and PokeGyms and dropping lures (attracts Pokemon to the spot, making them easier to catch, and also attracts other players) to raise money for charity.

http://www.dailydot.com/parsec/pokemon-go-feel-good/

UPDATE: According to at least one mother of a child with autism, Pokemon Go has helped her son socialize, look people in the eye, respond to questions from others, and willingly break from established routines.  (See picture)

 

3. Mental Health

There are many reports that Pokemon Go has been helpful to people with depression, anxiety and agoraphobia. Some have said that it’s given them a reason to leave the house, which results in physical activity, which has been proven to have a positive effect on depression in some patients.

http://www.sciencealert.com/pokemon-go-is-reportedly-helpin…

4. Education and Learning

I have been thinking about this game through the lens of a teacher and I’m coming up with lots of ways that this game might not only provide learning opportunities for kids, but also act as an amazing and engaging classroom tool. It’s fairly accessible: a single classroom iPad would be sufficient for playing, and since the app is free (with in-app purchases, but it’s playable without) many students will already have it. There are ways around needing an internet connection that can be explored, including saving maps through Google Maps to play offline. Why not turn a neighbourhood walk into a Pokemon hunt as part of you Daily Physical Activity (DPA) requirement? Use these “hunts” to explore the community around your school, tackle direction and develop mapping skills (hitting several curricular points in the BC primary curriculum). Once you’re back in the classroom, you can use Pokemon Go in math activities like sorting and grouping different varieties of Pokemon (by type, by evolutionary family, by level, etc), graphing found Pokemon and using those graphs to look at probability (more primary curricular points). You can also work as a team to talk strategy, such as deciding how and when to use stardust and candies to power up and evolve your pokemon (a great way to introduce the concept of evolution). Have Pokemon information books and graphic novels for reading and research. The possibilities go on and on.

5. It’s just fun.

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Of course, as can be expected, there are some downsides to the game, such as coming across dead bodies, being robbed at gunpoint, and people walking into trees, holes, and injuring themselves. UPDATE: Man causes terrible care wreck on highway after stopping to catch a Pikachu. All of these things (except the dead body thing) can be easily avoided through common sense and discretion. Use it as an opportunity to teach your kids about moving around safely.

In conclusion, if you love it, rock on. If you don’t love it, the people who do love it don’t care so you can stop saying you hate it. If you don’t understand it, you can if you want (I was brand new to Pokemon when I downloaded Pokemon Go, and the learning curve isn’t sharp). As for those who say grown adults shouldn’t be playing it, you have to remember that Pokemon was first a thing in 1996, so it’s perfectly understandable that people from my generation are into it. It’s even getting families out spending time together as they search for that allusive wild Squirtle.

Pokemon on, nerds.