Pokémon NO.

I grew up addicted to Pokémon. When I was three, I threw such a large tantrum that my mom confiscated all my video tapes and the privilege to watch new episodes for two weeks. That was like eternity for a three-year-old.

Eight years later, we found all those hidden tapes and toys. By then, I had completely forgotten what Pokémon was and no longer had all their names and purposes memorized. It was no longer “cool,” so I didn’t bother rekindling my love for it.

Now it’s 2016. We have people walking into heavy traffic, not paying attention when they’re driving, finding dead bodies, being lured by murderers and rapists, breaking into buildings, and falling to their deaths off a GIANT CALIFORNIAN CLIFF just to catch Pokémon THAT AREN’T EVEN IN REAL LIFE. Don’t get me wrong, I think the idea of this game and app is brilliant. But instead of luring people out to explore and see the area, the app is luring people out while still helping people glue their eyes to their screens. I would go to work and sit through an hour waiting for someone to finish up their end of a project, only to see that everyone’s catching Pokémon on my face (apparently, I’m a hot spot for them. Gr8.). Then I would leave the building after a long day just to have at leas-E.e crash into me because Jigglypuff was more important that my face.

Honestly, this game would be so incredibly fun to me if it wasn’t so over-abused. I debated downloading it in the beginning, but seeing how big of a distraction it is and how much it decreased my team’s productivity at times, I stopped myself. I’m already constantly distracted. If I downloaded it, my ADHD will go off the charts. So basically, I’m over it. I tend to dislike fads, and I want this one to roast in hell.

 

-E.