I cannot claim to know exactly the thrill of playing Pokemon Go, for several reasons. I have never played, for one, in addition to the fact that I never got too involved with Pokemon in my younger years. Nor was I ever too into phone or video games. I wanted to reflect, however, on an experience I had as an outsider watching this phenomenon evolve.
This past week, my boyfriend and I had just finished a delicious meal with his parents and decided to walk around the nearby park and adjacent docks. There was a beautiful sunset, the sailboats raising dark-lined silhouettes into the strawberry and lemon sorbet sky. As we began to walk around the decks, hand in hand and in awe of the gorgeous night we'd been blessed with, we took note of the large amount of people that also had congregated around us and the park on a Tuesday night. Not too weird, we thought; after all, the view was unforgettable and the summer breeze perfect.
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Then we started overhearing the conversations of the passers by. At least 80 percent were either on their phones or looking over the shoulder of a friend who had their phone extended. All of them were talking about Pokemon Go, and regardless of whether they found what they were looking for, none of them were stopping to enjoy the night.
Perhaps I'm missing the point, and it's really just great that Pokemon Go gives friends and family an opportunity to get out into the world together. Maybe the muggings are just a fluke? But that night made me wonder what so many members of our generation are missing while they stare at their phones. They probably weren't on any news sites to hear about the tragedy in France, probably didn't stop for too long to let their hearts reach out to the victims and the nation before reopening their favorite app. I read a status on Facebook that said the internet right now is filled with either Pokemon Go or Black Lives Matter. I wonder how many of us could be making a difference, or at least trying to, concerning the African-American/Police issue, if we spent more time here in reality rather than sucked into a tiny glowing screen. Not that we are heartless, of course, just becoming oblivious to the real world while we become entranced by the digital. Are we becoming addicted to a game while life flies by around us?
