Island Chiropractic & Family Wellness

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Pokemon Go - Is Augmented reality a good way to encourage movement?

What is Pokemon Go?(click here for a longer explanation from vox.com)

I find this concept of mixing smart phone capabilities with the real world real fascinating.  For those of you who don't know what Pokemon Go is - here are the Coles notes.  

It's a game played on a smart phone that is similar to a popular show/game from the 1990s - Pokemon.  Where the main character travelled around capturing strange creatures and having battles with said creatures.  In the AR version, people go around with their phones capturing creatures and having battles with other people's creatures.

Technically speaking I think it's great that a video game can be played physically, and I image this will increase the physical activity of some people who used to spend hours on the couch playing video games.  But I do have concern about an increase in smart phone injury - not just things like texters neck and players thumb, but more serious things like scrapes or bumps from tripping or falling or even more serious conditions like fractures or concussions as people are focusing on their phones and not on the world around them.  Unfortunately, I think it's just a matter of time before somebody who is really into the game gets a serious injury or possibly suffer an even worse fate. 

Why not ditch the phone all together and try interacting with real humans, possibly exploring the great outdoors as it was meant to be?

What do you think?