Pokemon Go

The Pokemon craze came into childhood vogue long after I had become an adult. However, my kids liked Pokemon, collected the cards, and played the video games. I never understood the appeal myself. For those who don't know, Pokemon is short for Pocket Monsters. It involves an imaginary world and the goal is to capture all the Pokemon. Their catchphrase is, "Gotta catch 'em all!"

In the last ten years or so, the fad began to fade into virtual obscurity. Then Nintendo (the creators of Pokemon) came out with Pokemon Go. This is a game where Pokemon creatures "appear" in the real world. You can only see them using a Smart Phone and they are only imaginary. You can't REALLY see them. The object is to get people to get up and "GO" (i.e. walk around everywhere) looking for various Pokemon. This silly game has captured the attention of the world and it is causing problems everywhere. People are trespassing onto private property looking for Pokemon. People are putting themselves in dangerous situations looking for Pokemon (I have heard people are walking into trees and into traffic while their noses are buried in their phones). People are looking for Pokemon while driving (DISTRACTED and DANGEROUS). People are neglecting their work in order to play this game. And yes, some people are using it correctly and are having a good time with it. I am astounded at how this game has exploded on to the scene and seemingly taken over the world. I, for one, will not be chasing imaginary monsters with my phone.