[dropcap]I[/dropcap]f you were out and about at all this summer, you probably noticed a lot of people buried in their phones as they strolled past you in the park.
It is not the usual Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat routine, it is a little app called ‘Pokemon GO’ which allows you to catch pokemon in real-life locations like parks, beaches and even graveyards
Pokemon GO initially took the world by storm in mid-July, when Niantic first released a simplified version of the game, which often crashed and left most players incredibly infuriated. The objective is simple, find and catch Pokemon. With over 140 types of fantastical creatures to look for, the player needs to set off into the real world to catch them. This is not your average computer game leaving you stuck in your bedroom for days as to catch the virtual animals, you must go outside and find them. GPS technology works with the app to track your location and the pokemon spawn in random locations, which appear on a map in the game and allow the player to catch them.
Not only is it incredibly addictive, it also means the player needs to go outside and walk around to find pokemon, or hatch eggs. You must walk two, five or even 10km to hatch an egg and retrieve a pokemon, an excellent way to get a stroll into your day and get rewarded for it. Dedicated players will probably spend some portion of their day playing the game, but you will also see those players have an excellent physique, thanks to all that walking around.
Even though walking is rarely seen as exercising, it is actually one of the best and most convenient forms of a work out. According to reports, every minute of walking can extend your life by two minutes. Although the game has received some backlash in terms of players trespassing to catch rare pokemon, as long as you have your wits about you, you will be fine.
I take great pride in saying that I have reached level 20 on the game and consider myself to be a true player, as many abandoned it the week it came out. I love how it gets me up and out of the house. If I have a spare few hours to play, I am not stuck inside in a dusty room, but outside in the fresh air. In a media obsessed world where everyone seems to always be stuck inside their phones, Pokemon GO is one of the few apps that ensures that we are still stuck in our phones, but out in fresh air, adding two precious minutes to our lives.
Gabija Gataveckaite
Image Credit: Laura Horan
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