Pokeman NO

I am the first to admit that I am not hip. I'm not cool. Sure, I've got a smart phone and a laptop but I wouldn't call myself very "techy" either.

Having said that, a lot has been said about Pokeman GO, the free-to-play, location-based reality game played via a smartphone app. Things like:

"Instead of my adult son and his friends playing video games from the sofa they are out and about enjoying the outside. Good friends, clean fun, great exercise.”

"It’s a fun and productive way to get out of the house and go on a walk.”

“If people pay attention to their surroundings, I think it’s great. It’s getting people off the sofa, out of the house, and exercising.”

Two Pokeman GO players in the work parking lot

That's the key--IF people pay attention to their surroundings. We apparently have some of those Pokeman critters in our parking lot at work because I've seen dozens of people of all ages wander in and out of the parked cars in their quest including several kids on skateboards and bikes who keep their eyes down as they motor along. On one particular morning I noticed a man in his 40s or so not once, but twice. On the second occasion, I called to a nearby co-worker and said, "Hey, watch this guy. He's going to stop at the intersection of two sidewalks (which he did), Now he's going to wait 5 seconds, pivot around and walk about 10 yards toward our building (which he did). Okay, now he's going to turn back around and return to the sidewalk intersection (which he did). And now he's going to hang a left-hand turn and walk out of sight (which he did)." All the while he never once raised up his head to see what was going on around him.

I also read a report about man who is suing the game maker because players keep wandering into his yard. Some people apparently like to play while they drive.

My kids will tell you I'm not a big advocate of computer games. And there's a pretty specific reason why that is. Early in my married life my wife and toddler daughter took an out-of-state trip for a week or so. While they were gone, a buddy of mine let me borrow his new Nintendo Super Mario game. I hooked it up to my TV and started playing on a Monday morning after breakfast. I eventually grabbed something for lunch but kept on playing. Before I knew it, it was dark outside. When I finally went to bed that night at about 11 o'clock, I didn't even need to change because I still wore the same robe I put on after rolling out of bed. As I laid there I thought, "Boy, what a waste of a day!" I vowed something like that would never happen again.

Am I saying don't play Pokeman Go or any other computer game? No! I'm just saying if you do play, don't get so deep into it that you're missing out on experiencing real life. Keep your eyes up and live your surroundings. After all, there's a lot of beauty out there. And a heck of a lot more to soak in and experience than what you see on a smartphone screen.

(And yeah, I'm like the oldest generation in the video below, which has a pretty hard-hitting message from all three generations.)