Pokemon Go has a variety of positives

A+student+views+his+Pokedex.

Coral Edmunds

A student views his Pokedex.

Brittney Wilson, Writer

Pokémon Go is beneficial to the economy and individuals. In order to catch the Pokemon, players must travel to a specific location and throw Pokeballs. This feature requires extensive physical activity, but many competitors are ready and willing to go the distance.

Dr. Irvin Sulapas, an assistant professor of family and community medicine at Baylor mentions in an article for the Baylor College of Medicine that she believes the game is a helpful tool for fighting couch-potato syndrome.

“The whole premise of the game is to catch digital Pokemon in the real world,” Sulapas said. “It forces individuals to get out the house and walk.”

Besides catching Pokemon, players are able to collect eggs. Hatching eggs requires walking a minimum of 1.2 miles or a maximum of 6.2 miles.

Livestrong suggests that students walk over 5 miles per day, or take over 10,000 steps. However, the average American teenager only walks three to four miles each day. Hatching eggs allows children and young adults reach the desired amount of steps.

According to the American Heart Association, walking will “reduce your risk of coronary heart disease and stroke, improve your blood pressure, blood sugar levels and blood lipid profile [and] help maintain body weight and lower the risk of obesity.”

Walking also helps relieve stress.

Julie Garden-Robinson, food and nutrition specialist with the North Dakota State University extension service, accredits walking to the decrease of an individual’s ability to acquire certain diseases.

“Getting moderate exercise such as walking can enhance our mood while it strengthens our hearts and and reduces our risk for diabetes, cancer and numerous other health issues,” Garden-Robinson said.

In addition to Pokemon Go’s health benefits, the game’s publicity has helped boost the economy. Small, independently owned shops use the game to their advantage by offering their Pokemon strictly to paying customers.

According to Time Magazine journalist Martha White, shop owners are not the only people making a profit off of Pokemon Go.

“Now it appears that another group of entrepreneurs are finding a way to profit off the craze: Clever drivers for services like Uber and its competitors, who are advertising their services to help Pokemon players cover more ground faster and, presumably, more safely, since somebody else will be the one watching the road,” White said.

Not everyone has taken advantage of the new services. Police officers and the public argue that the game provokes reckless behavior.

Ryan Miller stated in an article for USA Today that two boys were shot in Guatemala after wandering into a house in search of Pokémon. The article also claims two men fell 50 feet in San Diego while playing the game.

Although these appear to be the fault of the game, they have another thing in common: they are all a result of bad decisions.

Before the game opens, it issues a warning to all players that says “remember to be alert at all times. Stay aware of your surroundings.”

Pokemon Go has proven to be a one-of-a kind game. Whether it sticks around or is gone within the next month, it has positively impacted those who have played it. After all, there is no such thing as a stupid game, only stupid people.