It's like the Walking Dead

"ttyymmnn" (ttyymmnn) 07/13/2016 at 17:18 • Filed to: None

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My son started playing Pokemon Go, and I drove him to the park so he could catch a few. I was amazed (well, not really, since I follow the news) by how many people were wandering around glued to their phones. It’s amazing to me how so many people can be out in the world and yet so completely disconnected with it. I suppose it’s no different from people being glued to Facebook or whatever is hot now. But this is also coming from a guy who refuses to wear headphones because I like to hear the sound of the wind.

I’m sure my other boys will join in, and tomorrow’s summer activity will be driving them around the city catching Pokemon. It will be a fun family adventure, no doubt, and perhaps that’s the best part of this game. It does have the potential to bring folks together, but I just wish they could do it with their eyes up.

EL_ULY > ttyymmnn 07/13/2016 at 17:21

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lol children*

*anyone 5-34 years old

MonkeePuzzle > ttyymmnn 07/13/2016 at 17:24

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its a good way to kick off a hike, or to have a destination. I often take my kids for a ride around the lake. frequent stops for water and snacks at ingress portals/pokestops.

UnderSTeerEnthusiast - Triumph Fanboy > ttyymmnn 07/13/2016 at 17:24

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I refuse to download it. For that reason really. I’m also a kind of millenial?? If 90's kids count (born in 93) so I should be all about it.

ttyymmnn > MonkeePuzzle 07/13/2016 at 17:27

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Don’t get me wrong—I’m not anti PG. I can see the positive aspects of it, and hell, it’s getting people outside. But for many, it’s outside in name only. It’s like going to the restaurant and seeing two people sitting across from each other, each on their own phone. What’s the point?

StingrayJake > UnderSTeerEnthusiast - Triumph Fanboy 07/13/2016 at 17:27

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Most agree that the millennial range starts around 1980. The end date varies. I guess it depends on who prompted you to say “Kids these days” and how old they are. Most say mid-to-late 90s though.

Anon > ttyymmnn 07/13/2016 at 17:27

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Really? I ended up talking with a ton of people while playing it. Telling them where some pokemon are and asking if they had run into any rare ones. It’s made a lot of people a lot more open!

Chris_K_F drives an FR-Slow > ttyymmnn 07/13/2016 at 17:27

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The nice thing is that the camera function for catching them does actually require looking up, albeit through the screen but that may cause them to notice the background on the screen and take some time to look away from the phone.

Perhaps make a rule with your kids that after each Pokemon they catch they have to put the phone down for a couple minutes. I know that’s easier said than done with kids, but it’s an idea.

I say this as someone who loves the outdoors (hiking, backpacking, camping, fishing, rock climbing; all of that wonderful stuff) and plays Pokemon Go. haha

HammerheadFistpunch > ttyymmnn 07/13/2016 at 17:28

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Fun story, I just got back from a walk around the park just to get out of the office and I had the EXACT same epiphany. Except instead of trying to catch ‘em all I was busy realizing that I never noticed how amazing this park was!

I’ve been working 5 minutes walk from here for almost a year and never walked through.

ttyymmnn > HammerheadFistpunch 07/13/2016 at 17:30

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Damn, do you live in Middle Earth?

MonkeePuzzle > ttyymmnn 07/13/2016 at 17:31

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my co-worker just bought a segwey during amazon prime day, his great intent is to play pokemon with it, thus reducing the outsideness of his outsiding even more :D

ttyymmnn > Anon 07/13/2016 at 17:32

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Oh, I can definitely see the social possibilities, and I’m not anti-PG. I just wish there were a way for people to be social and get outside while being connected with their environment instead of a glowing rectangle.

Textured Soy Protein > ttyymmnn 07/13/2016 at 17:32

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Back when the original Pokémon came out on Game Boy, my little brother was obsessed with it. He had a red Game Boy Pocket that may or may not have been a tie-in with the red Pokémon cartridge. I was all like “fuck Pokémon, that shit is stupid.” My opinion hasn’t changed.

ttyymmnn > MonkeePuzzle 07/13/2016 at 17:33

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Wow. Maybe he should get a Hoveround so he doesn’t even have to stand up.

HammerheadFistpunch > ttyymmnn 07/13/2016 at 17:34

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well, I do have unusually hairy feet.

MonkeePuzzle > ttyymmnn 07/13/2016 at 17:35

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Chris_K_F drives an FR-Slow > HammerheadFistpunch 07/13/2016 at 17:40

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There’s a pretty nice forest preserve near my office. I’ll often take my lunch over there to eat, take a nap in my car with the windows down, or just walk around. Now I might have the game open while I walk, but I don’t continuously look at the screen. It will vibrate if something is happening near me. So I just hold it at my side until that happens, I’ll then take care of whatever it is in the game, and back to my side it goes so I can continue to enjoy the park. I also tend to have a greater appreciation for nature, and more self-control, than many people I know.

Sneaky Pete > ttyymmnn 07/13/2016 at 17:44

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I was thinking the exact same thing when I went for a jog around my local park last night...there was literally about 40 people shuffling around slowly in groups with the heads down in their phones.

I’ve never seen more than a handful of people at the park when I jog at night, so this was really weird.

just-a-scratch > ttyymmnn 07/13/2016 at 17:47

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Perhaps getting gamers to meet IRL was an objective of the game design. I like to think that anyway.

TheRealBicycleBuck > ttyymmnn 07/13/2016 at 17:57

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My office is in a multi-use district that has two pokegyms and eight pokestops. The place is crawling with teenagers staring at their phones.

Not every place is like this. There’s a pokestop at a gentleman’s club on my commute home and a gym at a park in the seedier side of town. Kids seem to be avoiding those locations for some reason.

unclevanos (Ovaltine Jenkins) > ttyymmnn 07/13/2016 at 18:02

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Go outside the game! - stare at your phone while soaking up the sun and avoid contact while twittering and sharing crap that is miniscule. I feel old about pokemon, I’d rather try to learn the piano while dealing with saxophone hands (its not fun) than pokemon. This is coming from somebody who plays a parody of it called “Pocket Mortys”.

ttyymmnn > unclevanos (Ovaltine Jenkins) 07/13/2016 at 18:15

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At least you used all your fingers to play saxophone. I only use three of mine to play trumpet. I always sucked at piano, but then again, I never practiced.

Funktheduck > ttyymmnn 07/13/2016 at 18:20

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I don't actually look at my phone much while playing unless I'm hunting something specific. I've also met some nice people playing. It's only as anti social as you let it.

Nauraushaun > unclevanos (Ovaltine Jenkins) 07/14/2016 at 05:25

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I found Pocket Mortys a bit thin

Nauraushaun > ttyymmnn 07/14/2016 at 05:28

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Don’t compare it to family activities, compare it to other games.

It’s a game that forces you to leave the house and interact with people, even if that interaction is less than talking or proper communication. This is great as far as games go, and safer than trying to make people really interact with strangers.

Rico > ttyymmnn 07/14/2016 at 12:42

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Nintendo understands that the alternative is people sitting at home moving the character around on the screen instead so they decided this would be better.

Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) > ttyymmnn 07/14/2016 at 13:03

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baby steps. They just have to take it to the next level and start requiring you to hike to the top of mountains to unlock cool stuff and allow you to turn off the screen while doing it to earn more bonuses or something. Then it would surely influence people to get out there and do it.

Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) > Chris_K_F drives an FR-Slow 07/14/2016 at 13:07

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I wish I had cell service in all of the places that I go hiking. Then it would be awesome to catch some pokemon while im doing one of my regular 10-15 mile hikes. Plus I could hatch so many eggs during that! It would be so motivating if the top of the mountain had a friggin charizard on it. That would definitely get me to not give up and just keep going.

Chris_K_F drives an FR-Slow > Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) 07/14/2016 at 13:31

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Haha absolutely!

Chariotoflove > ttyymmnn 07/14/2016 at 13:57

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Reminds me of this:

Maybe they should update the episode for Pokemon.