People roaming/running en mass in New York's Central Park at night, people walking out in front of moving cars, and even a pair of northwest Arkansas people driving their car off a second-floor parking garage. Is the Zombie Apocalypse upon us?
No, according to more than one expert, it is only the newest way American citizens have adopted to improve their physical fitness. According to New Hampshire's Dr. Loretta Brady, the latest technological rage, Pokemon Go, is getting people out of the house and into the fresh air and exercising. Dr. Brady is among a host of medical and psychological health professionals extolling the value of participating in this new phenomena.
Pokemon Go was developed by a small company by the name of Niantic, combining GPS tools, IOS devices, and Pokemon computer imagery to develop what is called "augmented reality." Niantic (named for a merchant ship that ran aground near San Francisco and then became a warehouse before it was buried in a landfill) has partnered with Apple, Nintendo and Google to launch this new App. Launched on July 6, this new game has become a hit around the world with millions of players participating in most countries on earth.
This augmented reality uses players cell phones to help them see and catch Pokemon characters. The characters are super-imposed on the players devices using their camera technology. When they see the Pokemon monsters, they use electronic balls to throw at them thus capturing them.
Though it has been activated for only 18 days, the company has already realized profits of $35 million dollars and industry analysts predict that the game making the various business partners more than a billion dollars a year.
Now to the fitness aspect.
These Pokemon characters are not all that easy to catch. As a matter of fact, players often have to walk up to six miles to succeed in the game. Along the way, players obtain Pokemon eggs which are only hatched by walking a considerable distance. The GPS in their phones will not count their progress if they travel over 10 miles an hour so using motorized conveyance to zip around catching Pokemon won't work.
Now to the downside of the game.
People are getting hurt by the hundreds across the country. Folks are falling into ditches, tripping over curbs and falling down stairs. Some are using automobiles to get after the little monsters and foregoing earning the credits for walking there. If you think texting is bad for drivers indulge in, Pokemon Going while driving takes inattentive driving to a whole new level.
While you can earn the game balls by playing, you can also buy them on the App. A man in Florida was car chasing a Pokemon in a park and didn't notice the tree looming ahead of his vehicle. Locally, a couple of teenagers in the Pinnacle area were after a Pokemon on the second floor of a parking garage and drove off into the air, landing upside down in the street. They weren't badly injured but could have been.
There have been people walking in front of cars, subways, bicyclists and getting into places that they shouldn't. A teenage player was shot by a Florida homeowner who thought the erstwhile player was a burglar on his property. Even more sinister, St. Louis fans were playing in groups and were robbed as soon as they were getting to a secluded area. Gang members were tracking them, waiting for a chance to pull a robbery on the distracted teens.
Another academic supporter, one Dr. Amois Milkams, believes that participating in Pokemon Go is a boon to mental health as well as being physically beneficial. Dr. Milkams believes there are a lot of people who are afraid to experience real life but who are open to playing this game. Blending reality with fiction gets them out of their homes and gets them to mix with others, or so he believes.
Personally, I see a problem with anything that blends reality with non-reality. That's one of the biggest siren calls of people who use recreational drugs.
I was at a family gathering recently with a large group in attendance. Most people were older and spent their time eating and socializing with other people. I looked up and noticed every one in attendance under the age of 17 were parked in a corner staring at the screens of the devices they had brought.
When I was that age and was attending a family gathering, we were pretty much running around the place, talking with cousins, and getting into some kind of mischief. You know -- experiencing life!
It would seem to me that anything that blurs real with unreal is maybe not such a great thing. Maybe the Pokemon Go is fun to do but a lot of folks are getting a lot of unfun injuries. While a lot of the things associated with the game are free, a lot of it isn't hence the corporate expectations of big financial windfalls.
I was thinking about the game and what folks got out if it. Let's say you captured all the Pokemon monsters in record time. What, exactly, does that get you. Lots of lost time and likely lost money.
I've overheard youngsters boast among themselves of all the trophies and medals they have won playing games on their phones of computers. The problem is these "awards" aren't real. The real young ones especially seem to have trouble differentiating real from fantasy.
As far as folks improving their physical fitness? Believe it or not, there are now people who will do the walking for you for $20 per hour to chase down your Pokemon. They do the work and make regular updates to you to tell you what you have "won."
Maybe it is time for everyone to think about how they use their devices and how they use their time. Time is the one commodity life is made of and when you run out, life is over. How you use it determines the quality and meaning of your life.
Use it wisely.
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Editor's note: John McGee is an award-winning columnist and sports writer. He is the art teacher at Pea Ridge elementary schools, coaches elementary track and writes a regular sports column for The Times. The opinions expressed are those of the author. Mr. McGee can be contacted through The Times at [email protected].
Sports on 07/27/2016