The original Pokémon world of the 1990s consisted of collecting stickers where people would catch creatures and pit them against each other for sport. Now we’ve got a mobile version, and one thing is for sure--this game is huge in terms of popularity. “It’s official. Pokémon GO has more Daily Active Users than Twitter, and if the trend continues, it is poised to take on Snapchat, WhatsApp, and other popular social apps.” It’s already passed Pandora, Netflix and Spotify for daily active users. Wow! Let’s get a better understanding of this crazy app.
“Pokémon Go is the first mass entertainment in years to require a person to leave the house to play it. Yes, it’s obnoxious to see someone in a movie theater, a Starbucks line or at a funeral trying to snuff out the nearest Charizard or Squirtle instead of paying attention to what’s happening directly in front of them. But it’s marginally better than Snapchat, which is a massive victory for our culture."
--The Guardian
So while there are haters out there, bashing our US citizens yet again for mindlessly following the latest craze, what is so bad about an app that actually gets us moving? Rather than sitting in an overpriced Starbucks, people are galavanting all over the city looking for these sci-fi named monsters. Some suggest this might be an answer to our country’s obesity epidemic as it encourages walking. People have reported losing weight and walking way more than they normally do, especially in cities like Los Angeles where walking just isn’t what people do.