Everywhere you look you see people posting photos or talking about the newest craze Pokemon Go.
I just cannot understand the point of it.
There have been people all over everywhere playing this game and the results have not always been positive.
A 15-year-old girl was recently hit by a car while walking around searching for Pokemon.
Worse yet, players are playing the game while they are driving.
We are trying to stop the use of cellphones while we drive through the distracted driving laws and now people are playing this game while they drive.
Does this make sense to anyone?
An Australian man lost his job after being frustrated that Pokemon Go had not made its way to his new home in Singapore yet.
Everywhere you look you see people wandering around staring at their cell phones not paying attention to where they are going.
Players are jumping on the subway tracks, they are littering parks, they are being mugged, they are falling off of cliffs, and these are only some of the issues that have been plaguing some users of the game.
I just do not get it.
How can one game where you catch digital Pokemon be so important that some people will ignore what they are doing or where they are going in order to keep track of where these Pokemon are?
Shouldn’t they be paying more attention to where they are going rather than where Pikachu might be hiding?
Is catching Jigglypuff so important that some people need to wander around searching for it while not paying attention to their surroundings?
Admittedly there are some positives to having the game as it does encourage activity as players receive Pokemon or hatch Pokemon for walking 2km, 5km, and/or 10km.
Promoting exercise is a positive for the game and it is an important aspect of everyday life.
The problem with that is people have found ways to cheat.
Since the app uses the phones built in pedometer to tabulate how far the user has walked people have been busy finding ways to trick it.
Among those ways of tricking the app, players have started attaching their phone to a fan, or even putting it on a turntable.
So if some players are taking advantage of the system to make it think they are walking two, five, or ten kilometers how much good is coming from the walking incentive?
The other benefit to the game is the social aspect.
I have heard and read about many instances where people who are not the most social have come out of their shell and have opened up to fellow Pokemon Go-ers.
Players who are usually shy are now finding it easier to speak to fellow players as they can talk about various Pokemon themed conversation including what Pokemon they have caught and where they caught them.
Adding to people’s social skills is very important and very valuable so that is a plus for the game but if player’s are only talking about the game how much benefit does that really do for their social skills?
Should we not be looking to improve people’s social skills in general and not just their ability to talk to each other about Pokemon?
If it is improving their overall social skills than it is a benefit but if it is not I do not see the benefit.
Now I have to admit all of the things I brought up are not being done by everyone but there are still enough people contributing to these issues to make it a problem.
So Pokemon Go players, please if you are going to be playing the game, pay attention to what you are doing and where you are going and please stay safe.
