The Pokémon franchise was first released in 1996, which was the exact year I was born. I watched the original anime as a toddler and absorbed as much of it as a toddler truly can. I never considered myself a “true” fan - with the exception of what I named “the Kellogg’s incident of 2000,” when I collected enough cereal box-tops for a limited edition Pokémon spoon of my choice only to find that the franchise’s mascot was out of stock.

I never played the video games, never watched the movies, and never even got my spoon.

Now that Pokémon has been reborn through Pokémon Go, I’ve still maintained the same level of disinterest. I’ve never played it, nor have I even cared enough to download the free app. However, my life has been far from uneffected by the Pokémon phenomenon.

Since its much anticipated release, Pokémon Go has enticed over 20 million active users - including my little brother, my boyfriend, and the majority of my Facebook friends. For several days after the launch, even during the heat of the presidential race, my news feed was almost completely Pokémon-related. Several Pokémon meetup events were suggested to me, including one in Central Park that had over five thousand RSVPs.

I’m about six years older than my little brother - which equates to decades in the world of technology. Growing up, my playtime was rarely solitary, and consisted of board games, Betty Spaghetty, and the occasional primitive PC game.

My brother grew up in the world of the smart phone. Books had turned into Kindles, and board games were replaced by Call of Duty and Halo. He attended an elementary school ten miles from home, and consequently had no friends in our neighborhood. Inevitably, he began to spend every waking moment in front of a screen. His friends were the fellows he screamed at through XBox Live. He threw tantrums if he was asked to leave his bedroom. I couldn’t help but worry about how this type of childhood would affect him in his adult life. Outside of school, he hardly saw daylight or interacted with real people.

Last week, my brother rode his bike to the park three days in a row to catch Pokémon.

He biked fifteen miles to buy Pokémon X for the nintendo 3DS.

And he isn’t the only one dusting off his helmet in the name of Pokémon Go.

Users nationwide have this game to blame for sore legs - a side effect of so-called “accidental exercise”. The nature of this augmented reality game requires users to explore their surroundings to catch Pokémon, and walk long distances to hatch eggs.

For players who are typically out and about, the game may not have changed their daily routines much at all. According to SurveyMonkey Intelligence, nearly half of all users are between the ages of 18 and 29 - those likely have nostalgia for the Pokémoncraze of the nineties. Adult players are more likely to have responsibilities which already required them to leave the house. To them, Pokémon-Go may be an afterthought.

However, for players like my brother, it’s made all the difference. Even though he started biking to catch Pokémon, he now loves to bike to the pizzeria, the mall, and even friends’ houses just for the sake of going outside. Although SurveyMonkey doesn’t collect data from children under 13, it reports that 22% of users are between 13 and 17. That’s an estimated 4.4 million teenagers who may be biking, walking, running, and meeting for the first time because of a smartphone game.

Pokémon Go is also great facilitator for those with social anxiety and disabilities. In an article for Paste Magazine, Ashley Barry writes about how the game has helped her cope with agoraphobia. Although she notes that the game isn’t some “miracle cure,” it helps distract and calm her down when she’s away from home. In addition, many children on the autism spectrum are making shocking social strides by playing Pokémon, including 6-year-old Ralphie and 12-year-old Ian. Autistic children tend to be attached to routines, and may prefer to play inside. However, catching Pokémon motivates children like Ralphie and Ian to go outside, stray from their routines, and even travel to new places. It’s also given them a way to connect with other children in a way they couldn’t before.

Although the future of gaming is exciting, we have to consider the repercussions it will have on our society. When I was a little girl, video game characters were literal mouthless block-people. Now, we aren’t far from virtual reality gaming making its way into family households. The life-like video games of today can completely immerse their players into a false reality. For some gamers, their entire motivation is that escape from their real lives. With so much temptation to be inactive and anti-social, the world needs more games like Pokémon Go. Augmented reality games use real-life structures and landmarks as their settings and bring an exciting fantasy outlook to what might otherwise be a mundane reality.

The amazing reception of Pokémon Go should be encouraging for other augmented reality games to develop. Games could encourage more social interactions, perhaps incorporating rewards based on real-life player connections. I would also love to see games offer more rewards based on different levels of exercise. However, it is important to remember disabled players, who are asking Pokémon Go for “alternate play modes” to be more compatible with physical disabilities. In an ideal world, maybe there should be many different augmented reality games that specifically cater to different audiences. There could be a wheelchair-friendly game, as well as a game designed for small children, and even games aimed at different fandoms. I know if the rumored Harry Potter version of the game is ever released, maybe I would reap the same benefits.