The transforming power of Pokémon Go | City Bible Forum
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The transforming power of Pokémon Go

Is Pokemon Go taking over our lives?
Mon 18 Jul 2016
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Pokémon Go, is taking over our lives. Or at least our social media feeds. It is a new mobile gaming app based on the Pokémon game created by Nintendo in 1995. It allows users to ‘catch’ Pokémons based on their geo-location and there are many elements from the original game that have been cleverly integrated on this augmented reality platform.

Let me clarify, I do not have the app installed on my smartphone but somehow this augmented reality has impacted my life in just over a week from its launch [1]. I have begun noticing changes in my friends and family who have started playing Pokémon Go; changes that affect conversation topics, work efficiency, fitness levels, battery life situations and most amusing of all, how long it takes to get from one place to another.

Having finished dinner early, a couple of friends and I decide to walk across the road for a spot of dessert. Had dinner taken place a week earlier, before my friends decided to become Pokémon master trainers, the journey would have taken a mere five minutes. Instead, we made multiple stops and excitement levels shot through the roof as one friend finally caught a Pokémon ‘only available at night’. To my utter delight, twenty minutes later we were back on our way to somewhere warm.

Pokémon Go transforms a walk from the station into a grand adventure. It turns a boring wait in line at the bank into an opportunity to scope the surroundings for PokéStops, nearby Pokemons and Gyms to battle. It has been reported that many are visiting churches because they are marked as Pokestops, a place for users to stock up on supplies for their pursuit to ‘catch them all’. Pokémon Go has given its users a new way to see the world around them, however virtual it is.

There is an odd sense of camaraderie when you spot another Pokemon Go user at the park. You may share a nod or glance of approval as you both attempt to catch the Mewtwo near the playground. It has been reported that the game has had positive effects for those suffering from depression or anxiety :

“Pokémon Go does this by encouraging people to get outside, take a walk, talk to others, and explore the world around them. Granted, it’s through their smartphone acting as an interface, but walking is walking, even if the motivation for doing so is to play a game. For a person suffering from depression or another mood disorder, the idea of exercise can be nearly impossible to contemplate, much less do. For someone suffering from social anxiety, the idea of going outside and possibly bumping into others who may want to talk to you is daunting.” [2]

And yet, there have been some disturbing reports of armed robbers using the game to ‘lure users to secluded areas where they can be easily robbed.’ [3]

This game has transformed human behaviour.

But what is driving this transformation? Is the aim not to ‘catch ‘em all’ in the fastest way possible? To collect all one hundred and fifty one Pokémon and accumulate points/levels until....until what?

However we choose to justify or disguise it, the driving force behind this change in behaviour is ultimately for self gain. Furthermore, what the user is trying to gain has its value defined by a fantasy world. This may be unnecessary analysis on an otherwise fun, interactive game but it does highlight one’s change in behaviour when given a new reality (the app), a purpose (the catch all the Pokémon) and a new identity (Pokémon Master Trainer). One friend was telling me how they had walked a total of fourteen kilometres without even realising it whilst on their pursuit for Pokémon. Although they had sore legs the next day, the sacrifice was worth it because of the virtual achievement captured forever on their Pokémon Go profile page. Perhaps Pokémon Go is now a worthwhile and normalised activity to alter other parts of their life because of its positive effects. The pursuit in living out this purpose in this new reality is also highly addictive and it seems the community of users are growing exponentially [4].

“It’s taken over my life. I can’t go anywhere without trying to catch Pokemon.” - Friend of a friend (though probably a friend we all have).

We ought to keep in mind that Pokémon Go is ultimately a game. The new reality, purpose and identity are fictional and yet it is having a very non-fictional effect on people which alters their behaviour, ultimately for self-gain.

But what if there was a new reality, a new purpose and a new identity that is not only true, but alters people’s behaviour for good? A reality that is visible, not through an app, but through faith. Some may argue that you do not need faith to see that the world is hurting more heavily than ever. It’s hard to ignore reports of terrorism, war, famine and crime in our news feeds. Perhaps this is one of the reasons why the augmented reality of Pokémon Go is so attractive to those who read about the war in Syria on the very same smartphone screen.

How then do we respond to the possibility that there may be a new and better reality that exists in our world that is hurting? One that doesn’t fade away when the hype dies down or which isn’t put on hold if servers are down?

The apostle Paul suggests that there is ‘an eternal glory that far outweighs them all’. He discovered a new reality - not a fictional one - but one that only makes sense when we realise who Jesus is.

Paul was not always Paul. He was first known as Saul. In the book of Acts, Saul is described as someone who persecuted Christians and dish out murderous threats against them [5]. God intervenes and interrupts his life with a new reality - the one where Saul finally recognises that Jesus is Lord. We see an one-eighty transformation in this man and he is later found preaching in synagogues that Jesus is the Son of God! It does not end there; Paul expresses radical views on what it means to be truly generous and urges Christians to show love and forgiveness on unimaginable scales in light of seeing the world differently.

How does the world react? They persecute Paul for telling others about this new reality. He allows himself to be thrown into prison and beaten up because the world rejects this news that there is a new reality. This kind of alteration in behaviour which is not for self-gain, but is in fact, incredibly selfless - is motivated by the selfless sacrifice of his Lord Jesus.

Although the world we live in is hurting, there is hope in Jesus Christ. The world suffers because of sin, but Jesus Christ offers a new reality to those who believe that He is the Son of God. That He died on a cross for our sins and later rose again so that we may have a new identity and purpose for His glory. A hope which transforms our decisions, attitudes and behaviour.

“Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.” - 2 Corinthians 4:16 - 18 [6]

Whilst I will not be downloading Pokémon Go anytime soon, I am thankful that it has reminded me of the new lens in which I see the world through the death and resurrection of Christ. To fix my eyes not on what is seen (augmented reality or not) but on what is unseen, secure and eternal.

[1] http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2016-07-06-pokemon-go-is-out-now-in-japan-australia-and-new-zealand

[2] http://psychcentral.com/blog/archives/2016/07/11/pokemon-go-reportedly-helping-peoples-mental-health-depression/

[3] https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2016/jul/10/pokemon-go-armed-robbers-dead-body

[4] https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2016/jul/12/pokemon-go-becomes-global-phenomenon-as-number-of-us-users-overtakes-twitter

[5] https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Acts+9

[6] https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=2%20Corinthians%204:16-18

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