Pokemon Go or no?

October 2, 2016

Sophomore writer Brittney Wilson argues that Pokemon Go has a variety of positive effects while senior print editor Kelli Burton discusses the negatives of the game.

Pokemon Go has a variety of positives

A+student+views+his+Pokedex.

Coral Edmunds

A student views his Pokedex.

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.

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Pokemon Go is detrimental to students

A+student+attempts+to+catch+an+Oddish+in+the+halls+of+Washburn+Rural.

Coral Edmunds

A student attempts to catch an Oddish in the halls of Washburn Rural.

One of the biggest games of the summer was Pokemon Go, an interactive game that allows users to hunt different creatures from an app while exploring new places.

Honestly, Pokemon was cool when I was six years old, but not anymore. I would have to say that Pokemon Go is a waste of valuable time and a dangerous app to even download, as many people have been reported injured or even dead while using this app.

I distinctly remember this summer when I was sitting at a Kansas City Royals baseball game, the lady sitting in front of me was playing Pokemon and I was absolutely furious with her. In my head I was thinking, “why would someone pay good money for a ticket and not even watch the game because they were too busy playing Pokemon?”

Pokemon Go is a distraction from what is happening in people’s surroundings. Players of this game have been seen driving into houses while playing, walking into things or people, falling off the side of buildings and this app has even lead to death. Now, is this app really worth getting seriously injured or dying for? I think not.

The only thing Pokemon Go is good for is that by using this app, you get to explore many new places because Pokemon are found everywhere.

However, Pokemon are found in some seriously sketchy places as well, such as dark alleys, cemeteries and dangerous neighborhoods.

According to an article posted by The Washington Post, the Pokemon Go app itself includes a warning on the loading screen telling users to pay attention to their surroundings.

With the Pokemon makers providing this safety warning to users, it is showing that even the people who made the app know that it is dangerous. So, in reality, there are no pros to using this app whatsoever unless people avoid the sketchy places, only hunt them in places that are safe and pay very close attention to their surroundings.

“Pokemon Go is providing problematic for those who are getting too wrapped up in the game,” Hayley Tsukayama, a writer for The Washington Post said.

At this point in the year, Pokemon Go is pretty close to hitting it’s downfall and although some people still play it there are not many users left, which in my opinion is wonderful. While people were busy playing this game, they were wasting so much of their summer plus their life and putting themselves in harm’s way just to catch some creatures and beat another player.

Although Pokemon Go allows people to get out of the house and get active, there are other ways to get exercise that are not as dangerous.

Another problem with Pokemon Go is the lasting effects it leaves on the user’s personal life. This game is addictive to many people.When people are playing this game constantly, they neglect their family, friends and even neglect important schoolwork.

Before you open up Pokemon Go after getting a notification, think about all of the things that make Pokemon not worth it. This game is not worth wrecking your personal life, getting a serious hospital bill after suffering an injury or maybe even dying for.

Don’t waste your precious time playing a game that is subpar; use your time doing something valuable. Next time you open up the app, consider deleting Pokemon Go from your phone. It will save space on your memory card and maybe even save your life.

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