Pokemon (no) Go!

Even as the world continues to swoon over the game, stories of medical conditions and social faux pas crop up closer home. We take a look

Two months after Pokemon Go was released, the augmented reality game continues to make headlines the world over, more often for negative reasons than positive ones. While heart-warming stories of the virtual reality game assisting people with social difficulties appear sporadically, most commonly, Pokemon Go is known to cause accidents, trespassing and even, in some cases, setting off shooting incidents. Some public bodies, internationally, have been taking steps to control the obsessed gamers. The Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum, Poland, the National September 11 Memorial and Museum, New York and even the Arlington National Cemetery have asked visitors to refrain from playing the game and accord some respect to the places. There are extreme examples too. The clerics at Dargah Aalah Hazrat this week issued a fatwa against Pokemon Go in India, terming it ‘un-Islamic.’ Besides putting lives of users at risk while walking around glued to their phones, the ‘demonic’ looking characters were questioned for their un-Islamic looks.

Closer home too, the game has been in the eye of the storm. Twenty-six-year-old Jabbir Ali, a car dealer from Bandra, became the first person to cause an accident in India while playing the game last month. His brother was explaining the game to him while they were waiting at a traffic signal, when a rickshaw collided with their car, causing considerable damage. Pokemon Go is now catching the eye of doctors and psychologists, for the effect it has been having on children and adolescents. Samarjeet Dutta (16) learned about the ill effects of playing the game the hard way, when his doctor told him his eyesight was getting affected, thanks to him being on the phone with this game constantly.

Says Samarjeet’s sister Tina, “Ever since the game was released, he was continuously on his phone, except for the time he would be in school or sleeping. After a few days, he complained to me about itching in his eyes. The doctor said that the irritation was due to overexposure of blue light from digital devices.” Tina recalls that a few of Samarjeet’s friends also complained about similar troubles. “They told their parents about pain in their eyes and sleeplessness. Samarjeet himself has now ensured he stops using his phone two hours before bedtime. He has tried to cut down on his game time. The problem is that letting go of the game is a gradual process.”

Consulting development pediatrician, Dr Anjana Thadani points out that such cases of game addiction are common. “Earlier it was Temple Run, then Subway Surfers and now Pokemon Go is the rage. For me, the name may change but the addiction remains the same,” she says.

Dr Thadani continues, “It’s very detrimental to one’s health and general well being, especially for children. Since the game is played outdoors, they fail to follow rules and safety measures; they’re even unable to observe people around them and their sixth sense goes for a toss. Even if they’re in familiar area, they’re unable to recognise where they are and gauge any possible impending danger.”

Losing focus offline hardly stops gamers from pursuing it rather seriously. Avni, a media professional, recalls how she was taken aback when her colleague changed her shift timings to hunt for the pocket-monsters. “My colleague Sanjana got hooked onto the game and would occasionally venture out to catch a few Pokemon when she could. We were in for a real shock when she asked to move her shift from day to the graveyard one.

She told us that it was easier for her to catch Pokemon in daylight rather than at night, when her shift ended.” Runcil Rebello, a 26-year-old content writer doesn’t let his office hours get in the way of his Pokemon ambitions, either. “I usually finished my work by 8 pm and would reach home by 10 pm. These days, I stay back after work for a couple of hours to catch Pokemon in my office area and reach home only by 12 am or 1 am. Last weekend, I walked about 22 kilometres around my house and hatched four 5 km eggs in the game,” he says, talking about the game’s feature wherein you can get new Pokemons by incubating eggs and walking around till they hatch.

The game seems to have taken precedence over social obligations too. Aisha, a 22-year-old research student and a level 21 Pokemon Trainer, says she ditched her date to catch the virtual monsters. “I was told about a Poke Walk a few hours before my date, so I told the boy that I was ill and went on the walk to Worli instead,” she says with a giggle and reveals that she regularly leaves work early to go on capture walks. “The Gateway of India is possibly one of the best spots in Mumbai to catch Pokemons and I frequently leave work early and head there.”

Dr Anjana laughs as she hears stories of this kind. Ruing the death of etiquette induced by digital devices, she says, “Games themselves are very addictive and lower general levels of productivity. People are so involved in phones and games that they’re not bothered about manners,” she says. “Road etiquettes are forgotten too and you’ll see people — not even on purpose — bumping into you while waking.”

The games thrive on competitive spirit, she adds. “You’re born with a certain personality, and it all boils down to nature versus nurture. People with Type A personalities are generally a little more competitive than their peers and you’ll see most of them addicted to games like Pokemon Go, trying to get the best out of it.”