The trend that has topped porn for amount of internet usage has likely taken over your life, even if you don’t play it. That’s right—Pokemon Go has completely. Wait, there’s a Zubat near me, hold on! OK, so Pokemon Go has completely taken over the internet, topping internet usage for porn. What’s the deal with this new game, anyway?
Pokemon Go is an interactive cellphone app that requires it’s users to travel their neighborhood searching for Pokemon—imaginary monsters—to catch. Once the monster is caught, you can strengthen them, battle them against other users' monsters, evolve them into even stronger versions of themselves, and move up the levels as a more experienced trainer. It’s very likely that if one of your friends has told you they’ve been going to the gym, they mean a Pokemon gym, a center for showcasing and battling your monsters owned by one team at a time. People of the same team can add their monsters to the gym, and people of opposing teams can battle the gym with the goal of taking over.
So aside from getting a bunch of little kids—or, uh, 20 year old adults—running around your neighborhood, what does this app mean for us?
The Good
People are motivated to become more active, as they are required to walk, bike, rollerblade, etc. to search for and catch Pokemon, so they can build teams to battle gyms with. If you’re thinking of a car as an exception, the app creators are way ahead of you: the app knows if you’re going speeds that aren’t possible for human legs. So if you try to hatch an egg by driving five km rather than walking five km, it won’t work. The app knows you’re cheating. So people are going outside, getting in some exercise, and rediscovering their neighborhoods.
While you’re out hunting, you can meet new people and make friends! Chances are, if you go out Pokemon hunting, you’re going to run into at least one other person doing the same thing. This is a good way to meet people and make friends, like if you’re both hunting for the same Pokemon or if you’re both sitting at a Poke Stop (place to get free items in the game). If you’re feeling social, place a lure on a local Poke Stop and watch the people swarm in. It’s a great way to make friends and bond over a common interest.
The app forces you to explore. You may go out of your neighborhood to catch Pokemon and that gets you more familiar with areas surrounding you, areas you don’t see every day. Granted, this may not always be a “decent” area, but it makes you aware of places around you, which is kind of cool.
The Bad
It absolutely destroys your battery life. I’ve heard rumors that the app developers are trying to work with this, but until then there’s a nifty little feature on the app called “battery saver,” which does exactly that. If you’re going on a long walk, perhaps trying to find some Pokemon while trying to hatch an egg that requires 10 km of walking, you can turn on “battery saver,” flip your phone upside-down (so the ear speaker towards the ground and home button is towards the sky), and walk your route. Your phone will still vibrate when there’s a Pokemon near you, and it uses less battery, because it darkens your screen, but keeps the app running on low power. You can access this feature by clicking the Pokeball on the bottom of your screen then going to “Settings.”
The app can be kind of glitchy. It is still a really new app, with millions and millions of users at any given time, so it’s understandable but annoying. One of the worst glitches is the app freezing or shutting down. For example, when you have battery saver on and turn your phone right-side-up, the app sometimes freezes, forcing you to quit out and re-enter. Sometimes you’ll catch a Pokemon and the ball will shake a few times like it normally does, but then freezes, leaving the user in a state of panic. If this happens, I’ve heard you should wait a few seconds, quit out, re-enter, and check your recently caught Pokemon to see if it is there. If it’s not, there’s not much you can do, but the latest update to the app has helped to reduce this glitch. One more glitch is the “Near You” tab. In this tab, you can see Pokemon that are supposedly near your GPS location. You can track their distance by how many footprints they have under them: one being close and three being far away. Players have noticed that this tracker is not very accurate or useful, as they wander the same area for extended periods of time saying, “It's three footprints away. Wait, now it's one. We’re really close! Oh, it just completely disappeared, which means we’re nowhere near it.” Again, I don’t know if there’s anything you can do to counteract this glitch, but we can collectively hope that it is fixed soon.
The Ugly
Pokemon and driving. It’s worse than texting and driving, as users addictively stare at their phones, tracking Pokemon (on a tracker that hardly works) or throwing Pokeballs at imaginary monsters on the street. As always, if you see someone driving dangerously, call police or highway patrol. Just know that, unfortunately, the risk of bad things happening on the road increased with the explosion of this game.
Crime risk has increased. Criminals, such as robbers or rapists, can hang out at Poke Stops late at night, waiting for people to show up to the stop to get the free items in the game. Once they show up, stop, and stare at their phones, some may see it as an opportunity to harm. So, don’t go out late at night, but if you do, bring a friend or two. One friend at a time can get their free items, while the other keeps their eyes up, and you can all leave safely together.
This app has exploded in popularity, as a very fun and even addicting game to play. You get some exercise, possibly making new friends, and always having a good time. However, the app does use a lot of phone battery and have some glitches. Maybe invest in a portable charger (usually around $10), if you play frequently and will need to map yourself home or call a parent to check in. Make sure you stay safe too by not going out when it’s dark (and brining a friend or two if you do), and please don’t Pokemon and drive! You put yourself and others in danger when you do so, and let’s be honest, it’d be 10 times harder to catch a Gastly if you’re trying to drive too. Keep it safe out there for all players, and only do one of those activities at a time. And, above all, have fun with it. Don’t get too angry with the glitches, allow others to try to battle, and as always, try to catch ‘em all!
