PRO: 

By Bonnie Liu

While taking a stroll through a park or a supermarket, it’s become common to see a bunch of people swiping up excitedly to catch Pokémon on their phones. When asked why they play the ultra-success Pokémon Go, chances are the answer will be, “It’s fun!” But Pokémon Go may actually be more beneficial than most think.

The extremely popular Pokémon Go has not only skyrocketed the concept of augmented reality games, but it also improves the physical and mental health of its 9.5 million users, evokes a sense of community and spurs economic growth.

Pokémon Go is designed in a way that forces its users to walk around and interact with the environment to catch Pokémon, earn items from PokéStops and hatch Pokémon eggs, which can require the user to walk from anywhere between two to 10 kilometers, or about 6.25 miles. This is a great way to encourage its users to exercise, thus benefiting their health.

Because exercise improves mental health as well, many users have already reported that Pokémon Go has helped them cope with depression, according to Psychologist John M. Grohol.

As Pokémon Go players explore the world around them, they naturally meet new people who are also Pokémon Go fans, especially when people get together at popular sites of rare pokemon or PokéStops. Many times, Pokémon Go users make friends with each other as they wait for a Pokémon to appear, and the community is brought closer together.

Pokémon Go also does its part for boosting the economy even though it’s a free game. Many of the PokéStops and Poké Gyms are located near actual restaurants and stores, and players tend to stop to purchase food and merchandise. As a result, these businesses increase their revenues from the mobile game.

Some argue that Pokémon Go is unsafe as a few vehicle and pedestrian game-user accidents have occurred.

About a month ago, a fifteen-year-old teen was hit by a car in Pennsylvania while playing Pokémon Go, and another driver in search of Pokémon crashed into a tree, according to Fox News. While these incidents did happen, the users simply did not heed to the warnings. When the game is loading, the screen always displays, “Remember to be alert at all times. Stay aware of your surroundings.”

Furthermore, whenever Pokémon Go detects that the user’s speed is too fast for him or her to be on foot, the following message pops up: “Pokémon Go should not be played while driving.” The message won’t go away until the user clicks “I’m a passenger.” The creators of Pokémon Go made it quite clear ‒ don’t be reckless by driving while playing Pokémon Go!

Since the game aids in the health of its users, helps people socialize, and profits local businesses, Pokémon Go is a great game that benefits society overall.
And, needless to say, it’s also super fun to play. “Gotta catch ‘em all!”

CON: 

By Cleo Chow

Pokémon Go took the world by storm this summer, and manifested itself in the hundreds of people milling around like zombies in libraries, parks and public restrooms. But people are now losing interest in the once insanely popular mobile game, which is a good thing, since it causes more harm than good, and could use some improvements.

To put it simply, Pokémon Go can be dangerous. There have been Pokémon Go injuries ranging from stubbed pinky toes to broken collarbones and legs, and even deaths caused by the innocent-looking Pokémon Go, because people are recklessly crossing streets, trespassing into taped off areas, and driving their vehicles while trying to catch a Snorlax. Sure, the app gives a short warning to be aware of surroundings and to not drive while playing, but many people just ignore the caution warning. Just last week, a woman was ran over and killed by a driver playing Pokémon Go in Japan, according to The Japan Times.

 Cases of kidnappers and muggers using in-game lures to tempt people to easy sites for kidnapping and stealing have also been reported by CNN and The Guardian. As Professor Gerry Beyer of the Texas Tech University School of Law said, “Death by Pokémon is coming.”

Students are affected badly by the game in more ways than one. Unlike Ash Ketchum, the fictional main character of the Pokémon franchise who started adventuring at the impressive age of ten, we students actually have something called school. Playing Pokémon Go takes away time that could be spent saving grades, napping, or trying to remember what homework was assigned. Hours of bingeing Pokémon Go might be fun, but it might affect your performance. Too bad Rattatas can’t be turned in for extra credit points in class.

Some say Pokémon Go helps players socialize and promotes exercise as it requires going outside and walking for in-game advancements, but there’s not much else to it. It is healthy to a point, and some players probably do socialize by exchanging info on where the last Pikachu sighting was, but other than those two reasons, what exactly is the point of this game? There’s no battle or trading feature which were key icons of the previous games in the franchise, nor is there an engaging storyline. All there is to do is to collect Pokemon, pick a team, and try to hold gyms for at least 5 days.
Pokémon Go is a cool game, but be careful when playing and make sure it’s not draining your life instead of your phone battery.