I’m sure you have all heard of the new gaming app Pokemon GO. You’ve probably also heard of the dangers and the crazies who have fallen off of cliffs, been hit by cars, and have even been shot because of the game. As with anything else, a game is what you make of it. Dangerous? Or Opportunity? I chose to make it an opportunity.
I first heard of the app a week ago when it suddenly had taken over the internet. I had online friends going nuts over finding Pokemon characters all over town. That was also when I started hearing about the crazies who would walk into dangerous situations in the middle of the night just to find an elusive animated mobile phone character. Don’t people like to sleep anymore?
My kids (2 out of 3 have their own mobile phones) had heard of it but hadn’t yet downloaded the app. I most likely wouldn’t have done it myself if we hadn’t been stuck in a car on a 6 hour drive back from Phoenix. I admit it… I was bored. And as an online influencer (aka Blogger) I figured I better take a look and see what this new phenomenon was all about.
I signed up and thought I’d be good to go, but there really isn’t any support on how to play the game. I kind of fudged it for a while until I started getting frustrated that I couldn’t figure it out. That’s when my 11 year old told me to give her the phone and the rest is history. Well, not history, really, but that child started capturing Pokemon like she had been born to do it and by the time we had gotten home I think she got me to Level 4. I still have no idea how many levels there are or if there is actually an end to this game.
Within a few days, the other two girls had downloaded the app and became as addicted as I did. Of course, I found myself googling how to play the game and what all the different “things” in it were for. Luckily, there are tons of blog posts out there explaining how to play and what everything does within the game. I ran out of balls early on… and kind of freaked out that my playing days were over. Nope… you can definitely get more balls (to throw at and capture Pokemon characters) when you visit a Pokemon Stop. I’m kind of on a personal quest to get as many balls as I possibly can. I don’t know why… I like having all the things. I still haven’t visited a gym yet… kind of scared of that one. You have to fight other characters or something. I think.
So the other day, the kids asked us if we could spend the day out as a family running around town playing Pokemon GO. This was unusual for 2 reasons. 1 - They don’t usually want to spend the entire day with us, and 2 - they actually wanted to play a mobile game WITH us. Say what???
And now I’m using this as our opportunity to spend time together… to laugh together… to learn together… and to experience something that is actually kind of fun for the whole family. The husband isn’t totally on the bandwagon yet, but he is being a good sport and is driving us around. He thinks we’re nuts… but I’m guessing he’ll be downloading the app sometime in the near future.
As our kids become teens, it’s not always easy to find common ground. Part of being a parent is encouraging the things that they are interested in. I might not always love all their games or music or choices of entertainment (YouTube) but I listen and watch and nod my head… a lot. I’m sure our parents thought our choices as teens were a little crazy too. But here’s the thing… this is their time to learn, create, and experience the world around them. That doesn’t mean that we have to sit back and lament the good old days. We have this opportunity to stand with them, learn along side them, help them create the life they want. I don’t want to be on the sidelines watching them grow. I want to be in the trenches growing with them. And you should too. If it took a fun mobile phone app to bring us together, so be it. Let’s go find Pokemon!
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