I could NOT BELIEVE the headlines! An article on the Internet proclaimed that the new, wildly popular game of Pokémon Go (PKM Go) was a WORLD-WIDE MENACE! I thought the article was just Internet hype, but it turns out that many online news sites are carrying similar headlines. After perusing a few of these, from the more "mainstream" sources, I saw that the governments of many nations around the world were taking steps all the way from warning players not to trespass on government property to declaring the playing of this game "UN-Isamic!," and thus probably punishable by death in the more fundamentalist nations. In Bosnia Herzegovina authorities were forced to post notices around the country in known minefields warning PKM Go players to please NOT ENTER areas known to contain unexploded landmines while pursuing the elusive little Poke manimals.
http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/nations-of-the-world-confront-the-pok%c3%a9mon-menace/ar-BBuzDTA
More about the "world menace" in a moment; first however, exactly how many people are believed to be playing Pokémon Go? Well, at least one source in the United States has calculated that nearly TEN MILLION Americans are playing PKM Go on a daily basis now. When the game was first released on July 6th, as many as three million people downloaded the app within the first twenty-four hours. Around the world, another source estimates that at least 21 Million people are DOWNLOADING the app daily, and the number is rising. The strain has crashed the PKM Go servers several times daily for the past two weeks. But the big news is that Internet monitoring sources have noted DECLINES in the daily use of Facebook, Twitter, and even Pinterest. I don't have a reliable source to check this, but I suspect that this is the first time we have EVER experienced a decline in the use of these social media, even a temporary decline.
But, you say, how can a "mere" cell phone-borne game be considered a WORLD-WIDE MENACE?! To answer that question I would point you to the human "herding instinct." The numbers presented above bear out the "herding instinct" without debate. The problems for PKM Go players seem to arise when some members of the herd become so PKM Go-bound that the human sense of self-preservation (also much of human "intelligence" and "good sense") is somehow forced to the back-burner of consciousness by the overwhelming desire to "capture" the elusive Poke creatures. Sadly, many players of this game have also lost the sense of observing the privacy and property rights of others, including state and federal governments.
As PKM Go continues to be a popular diversion, world governments are handling the situation in different ways. Almost universally many governments are calling on gamers to avoid entering military installations and especially not to PHOTOGRAPH the Pokémon characters while on, in, or near security- sensitive areas. The Kremlin, for instance, is emphasizing to the public that players could face years in prison for trespassing on military property or taking photographs on said locations. Some Russian news sources have expressed their suspicions that the PKM Go craze is actually the brainchild of certain elements within the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). These sources go on to state that CIA operatives believe they will glean information from the hundreds of thousands of players who are innocently snapping away with their cell phones, inadvertently giving away military secrets. I am not sure how that would work, but then, I not an international espionage operative. Nonetheless, governments around the world are condemning this game and looking for ways to control or even stop gamers before the "menace" truly gets out of hand.
Many religious leaders are condemning PKM Go as well. I have already mentioned that several Islamic clerics have called for good Muslims to cease the game, calling it anti-Islamic. Some of the more fundamentalist leaders are actually warning that persons playing PKM Go could face various punishments, the least of which apparently is the possibility that cell phones will be confiscated. Other religious leaders have expressed their irritation at PKM Go players who have desecrated, or at least been disrespectful, of religious property or sacred sites in pursuit of Pokémon creatures.
While I do not believe that PKM Go-ers are a world menace, nor that they are unwitting minions of the CIA, there is a disturbing element that has surfaced with the increasing popularity of the PKM Go game. The herding instinct here is the desire of millions of people to play PKM Go, to capture as many of the little creatures as possible wherever the little beasts present themselves. While most of the time capturing the Pokémon creatures is harmless, in itself, the lengths to which gamers will go to capture their prey is shocking. Merely trespassing or playing the game in inappropriate places is the least of problems associated with PKM Go. In the last three weeks, stories of gamers falling off high places or wrapping their cars around poles have become commonplace. There are even accounts in various newspapers around the country of people becoming trapped in trees, lost or injured in abandoned buildings, or hurt after falling over tombstones in local cemeteries. In the United States alone, the numbers of those killed and injured - as a result of being distracted while playing PKM Go - are hitting in the three digit range. Accidental death and injuries, however, are not the only dangers emerging as the PKM Go craze continues.
Aside from accidental entrapments and injuries, PKM Go players have faced the wrath of store operators and private property owners when they seemingly forgot the most basic courtesies and common sense regarding trespassing. Along with the risk of getting beat up or even shot at by property owners, PKM Go players have forgotten, in some instances, common decency. Some players have walked haphazardly through grave yards and knocked over headstones. Others have entered cathedrals, churches, and public memorials in pursuit of Poke prey. In such cases players would more than likely have little concern for these desecrations, even though they did not intend any harm.
In the United States, police departments in several states have reported theft and robberies in which PKM Go players have been victimized by thugs who, using the Pokémon Go app themselves, located Poke creatures in secluded, questionable places. These criminals then concealed themselves in the vicinity and just waited for the distracted players to arrive. In one city, a "crew" of four young men victimized several people across multiple police jurisdictions in the area in this manner. This particular criminal enterprise was believed to be responsible for numerous armed robberies and several aggravated assaults. I suspect that one or more persons have been murdered in this process, but such has not actually been proven at this point. But PKM Go players should bear in mind the possibility that they should exercise usual and conventional wisdom and caution while playing the game. No doubt more and more of the criminal element will join in the Pokémon Go craze. After all, no criminal wants to be left behind!
I am not playing this game myself, but I certainly don't belittle those who do. These types of games are fun and challenging, which equals distraction and escape from the real world for just a few minutes. That is probably the same reason I blog, though my readers are few. We all need a little distraction, and Pokémon Go is one more way of gaining that distraction. Like other "crazes," one day Pokémon Go will fade as some other game takes its place. I guess what make the Pokémon Go craze so incredible is the large size of the "herd" that is playing, and that much of the world is sort of united in something other than violence or endless protest. Governments and religious leaders the world over are up in arms over Pokémon. Probably the less these people worry about PKM Go gamers, the sooner the craze will blow over, and with less lasting damage. And, with the next "craze," I hope the participants will not forget (or FAIL TO LEARN) the lessons presented by the current rage, that while enjoying the diversion (and the comradery) that such games provide, they should be careful, stay alert and safe, and respect the rights of others and the sanctity of religious sites and other memorials. And yes, have fun as well.
From a non-Pokémon Go player to all, those who do and those who don't...
Enjoy your own diversions, whatever they may be, stay safe, and care for each other whether you are a PKM Go-er or not.
May God Bless America
http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/nations-of-the-world-confront-the-pok%c3%a9mon-menace/ar-BBuzDTA
More about the "world menace" in a moment; first however, exactly how many people are believed to be playing Pokémon Go? Well, at least one source in the United States has calculated that nearly TEN MILLION Americans are playing PKM Go on a daily basis now. When the game was first released on July 6th, as many as three million people downloaded the app within the first twenty-four hours. Around the world, another source estimates that at least 21 Million people are DOWNLOADING the app daily, and the number is rising. The strain has crashed the PKM Go servers several times daily for the past two weeks. But the big news is that Internet monitoring sources have noted DECLINES in the daily use of Facebook, Twitter, and even Pinterest. I don't have a reliable source to check this, but I suspect that this is the first time we have EVER experienced a decline in the use of these social media, even a temporary decline.
But, you say, how can a "mere" cell phone-borne game be considered a WORLD-WIDE MENACE?! To answer that question I would point you to the human "herding instinct." The numbers presented above bear out the "herding instinct" without debate. The problems for PKM Go players seem to arise when some members of the herd become so PKM Go-bound that the human sense of self-preservation (also much of human "intelligence" and "good sense") is somehow forced to the back-burner of consciousness by the overwhelming desire to "capture" the elusive Poke creatures. Sadly, many players of this game have also lost the sense of observing the privacy and property rights of others, including state and federal governments.
As PKM Go continues to be a popular diversion, world governments are handling the situation in different ways. Almost universally many governments are calling on gamers to avoid entering military installations and especially not to PHOTOGRAPH the Pokémon characters while on, in, or near security- sensitive areas. The Kremlin, for instance, is emphasizing to the public that players could face years in prison for trespassing on military property or taking photographs on said locations. Some Russian news sources have expressed their suspicions that the PKM Go craze is actually the brainchild of certain elements within the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). These sources go on to state that CIA operatives believe they will glean information from the hundreds of thousands of players who are innocently snapping away with their cell phones, inadvertently giving away military secrets. I am not sure how that would work, but then, I not an international espionage operative. Nonetheless, governments around the world are condemning this game and looking for ways to control or even stop gamers before the "menace" truly gets out of hand.
Many religious leaders are condemning PKM Go as well. I have already mentioned that several Islamic clerics have called for good Muslims to cease the game, calling it anti-Islamic. Some of the more fundamentalist leaders are actually warning that persons playing PKM Go could face various punishments, the least of which apparently is the possibility that cell phones will be confiscated. Other religious leaders have expressed their irritation at PKM Go players who have desecrated, or at least been disrespectful, of religious property or sacred sites in pursuit of Pokémon creatures.
While I do not believe that PKM Go-ers are a world menace, nor that they are unwitting minions of the CIA, there is a disturbing element that has surfaced with the increasing popularity of the PKM Go game. The herding instinct here is the desire of millions of people to play PKM Go, to capture as many of the little creatures as possible wherever the little beasts present themselves. While most of the time capturing the Pokémon creatures is harmless, in itself, the lengths to which gamers will go to capture their prey is shocking. Merely trespassing or playing the game in inappropriate places is the least of problems associated with PKM Go. In the last three weeks, stories of gamers falling off high places or wrapping their cars around poles have become commonplace. There are even accounts in various newspapers around the country of people becoming trapped in trees, lost or injured in abandoned buildings, or hurt after falling over tombstones in local cemeteries. In the United States alone, the numbers of those killed and injured - as a result of being distracted while playing PKM Go - are hitting in the three digit range. Accidental death and injuries, however, are not the only dangers emerging as the PKM Go craze continues.
Aside from accidental entrapments and injuries, PKM Go players have faced the wrath of store operators and private property owners when they seemingly forgot the most basic courtesies and common sense regarding trespassing. Along with the risk of getting beat up or even shot at by property owners, PKM Go players have forgotten, in some instances, common decency. Some players have walked haphazardly through grave yards and knocked over headstones. Others have entered cathedrals, churches, and public memorials in pursuit of Poke prey. In such cases players would more than likely have little concern for these desecrations, even though they did not intend any harm.
In the United States, police departments in several states have reported theft and robberies in which PKM Go players have been victimized by thugs who, using the Pokémon Go app themselves, located Poke creatures in secluded, questionable places. These criminals then concealed themselves in the vicinity and just waited for the distracted players to arrive. In one city, a "crew" of four young men victimized several people across multiple police jurisdictions in the area in this manner. This particular criminal enterprise was believed to be responsible for numerous armed robberies and several aggravated assaults. I suspect that one or more persons have been murdered in this process, but such has not actually been proven at this point. But PKM Go players should bear in mind the possibility that they should exercise usual and conventional wisdom and caution while playing the game. No doubt more and more of the criminal element will join in the Pokémon Go craze. After all, no criminal wants to be left behind!
I am not playing this game myself, but I certainly don't belittle those who do. These types of games are fun and challenging, which equals distraction and escape from the real world for just a few minutes. That is probably the same reason I blog, though my readers are few. We all need a little distraction, and Pokémon Go is one more way of gaining that distraction. Like other "crazes," one day Pokémon Go will fade as some other game takes its place. I guess what make the Pokémon Go craze so incredible is the large size of the "herd" that is playing, and that much of the world is sort of united in something other than violence or endless protest. Governments and religious leaders the world over are up in arms over Pokémon. Probably the less these people worry about PKM Go gamers, the sooner the craze will blow over, and with less lasting damage. And, with the next "craze," I hope the participants will not forget (or FAIL TO LEARN) the lessons presented by the current rage, that while enjoying the diversion (and the comradery) that such games provide, they should be careful, stay alert and safe, and respect the rights of others and the sanctity of religious sites and other memorials. And yes, have fun as well.
From a non-Pokémon Go player to all, those who do and those who don't...
Enjoy your own diversions, whatever they may be, stay safe, and care for each other whether you are a PKM Go-er or not.
May God Bless America
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