There’s a new craze in town the and it’s got everyone talking…and walking. It’s Pokémon Go! the newest virtual reality game that has everyone out on the streets looking out for Pikachu, Ekans and the other Pokémon, because they are everywhere!
What is Pokémon Go? the Pokémon (who are little monsters) are roaming the streets, and the job of each player is to locate, capture and train the Pokémon for a battle against other players (who are on their own little monster hunt). Pokémon Go has got everyone adults, teenagers and children playing and joining in the craze. Do you know what the effects are?
Yes, effects. Pokémon Go has its effects, as does every other thing.
So parents be aware of the effects of Pokémon Go; the downsides, upsides and safety precautions, so you can better protect your children.
So what are the downsides?
Addiction
One of the real effects of Pokémon Go is the possibility of addiction. This game is capable of getting you hooked without you even knowing it. It all begins with you saying. “No, I’m not addicted”, and then you cannot let go of your smartphone. Aside from note letting go of your phone, you could end up spending excess money by making in-app purchases of cards and pokéballs in order to level up.
Distraction
Pokémon Go takes attention away from every other thing at the moment you are playing it. It becomes difficult to concentrate on anything else. A recent poll by Forbes recorded that 69% of Pokémon Go users play the game at work and according to Kathy Caprino that attitude may be affecting the productivity at the workplace. Players get so engrossed that it prevents users from taking note of road signs, traffic signs and their surroundings. Such distractions has been reported to lead to harm – from a car crash to being bitten by a Snake.
SECURITY RISKS
Pokémon Go naturally puts you at an increased risk due the nature of the game. For one, the game requires your personal data. Fraudsters have seen this as an avenue to steal people’s personal data through the creation of fake versions (you have to be sure of its authenticity before fill out your personal details). Robbers and kidnappers have also taken to robbing teenagers of their phones and luring people, especially children to secluded places.
How then can you keep safe? Especially teenagers and children?
EDUCATE your child on the game:
Most children don’t know what the game is about, all they know is that it’s another active new game and they want to play. As a parent, in order to educate your child on the game, you ought to know about the game and you ought to have tried it out, at least once. That way, you can explain it better when your child begins dropping the “why” bombs on you.
PROTECT online app stores with passwords:
Enable that before your child is able to download anything on any device provided to them, they have to go through you. That way you can monitor what your child downloads and when.
MONITOR your child if they’re playing Pokémon Go:
It’s not okay to leave your child all alone outside playing Pokémon Go. It is easiest for children to be deceived or manipulated. They can wander off to the most dangerous places while playing the game and put themselves in danger. If you can’t do the monitoring, assign someone you trust to help you out with that.
Adults too can keep safe. You can educate yourself about the game, you can’t protect yourself from your own app store but you can use your discretion and watch out for some of the dangers.
Don’t rush to delete the game. Of course, there are good sides to Pokémon Go.
Interaction
Pokémon Go is a great social network that brings people together. It is created in a way that creates a link amongst all its users and the physical world. In search of Pokémon, he may end up with an unexpected lifelong friendship.
Improvement of Fitness and Moods
Pokémon Go keeps its users active. On fitness, users walk miles they ordinarily wouldn’t looking for Pokémon and end up shedding some weight along the way. On mental health, the game provides a platform for boosting people’s moods and it’s reportedly helping people with depression.
Discovery
As people go out in search of Pokémon in different places, the game serves as an encouragement for people to know and discover new places. It could take users from their houses in the North to marketplaces in the South just so they can catch Pokémon.
Now that you know these, you can “Get up, go out, and explore!”…with caution of course.
