Why Pokémon Go Matters

I grew up a nerd, and to this day I remain proud to be a geek, but being your stereotypical nerd means I have some problems. I’ve always struggled with socializing, I’m a weird combination of shy and outgoing, if I don’t know you I want nothing to do with you but once you get me talking I struggle to shut up. It was because of this that MMOs, specifically World of Warcraft were perfect for me. I could indulge in a culture I loved while simultaneously socializing in a safe space where I could properly think before I acted, social cues were obvious in text and over voice I just focused on the boss or raid at hand.

I’ve been playing WoW for almost a decade with it acting as my primary form of social contact throughout all of high school. Now please don’t take this as me saying I’m socially illiterate, I’m not, in fact I have a great group of friends on and offline I’m just insecure. See since elementary school I’ve always been the fat guy, as far back as I can remember I’ve had an utterly shit metabolism. I was always relatively active, but regardless of diet or exercise I couldn’t lose weight. Pokémon Go hasn’t changed my metabolism, it was chronic bowel disease that did that, but it has forced some other changes already.

See being fat and antisocial leads to other issues, mainly anxiety and depression. Or perhaps it was the anxiety that made me antisocial, causing me to become depressed and then drown my already fat sorrows in food. I’m not totally sure of anything if I’m being honest with you, but my life was definitely on a downward spiral. Over the past couple of years I’ve managed to start climbing out of that spiral, my depression is mostly gone and my anxiety has sunk to a manageable level. I’m still overweight, but the one surprising upside to stomach disease is a sped up metabolism so at least I’m finally losing weight. Despite these facts though, growing up the way I did still leaves it’s scars. My self image is so low I often find it hard to leave the house, I don’t run outside I use a treadmill, I’d rather order groceries than head to the store. It’s not just laziness, it’s a lack of self worth.

Pokémon Go has changed that, it’s forcing me to leave my home if I want to advance. For the first time in years my pale skin is adopting a bit of a tan. I feel revitalized, and I see it in the world around me too. Just yesterday I was riding from Pokéstop to Pokéstop on my bike when something magnificent happened, I crashed. I’m alright, bruised my ribs a bit and I’ve got a few new cuts and scratches to show off at parties but no harm done. Yet, as I was flipping over my handlebars I noticed something out of the corner of my eye, 4 guys hanging around a park sign holding their phones. When I opened my eyes though they weren’t looking at their phones anymore they were looking at me. I was mortified, all that value I saw in leaving the house shattered, then I felt my phone buzz. My Pokémon egg was hatching. I won’t pretend those 4 people and I are best friends now, I don’t even know their names, but for the next ten minutes we sat there and talked. I told them of the gym I just conquered, they gave me a hint to a nearby spawn, and after ensuring I wasn’t hurt too bad we all went on our ways. For that moment, and the past few days really our world has become an MMO.

I don’t know how long Pokémon Go will last and the game is by no means perfect, but at least for right now it’s changed the world into something I feel apart of. I see hundreds of people every day drifting from spot to spot looking for new Pokémon, getting fresh air and exercise while meeting new people, we all have a mutual goal to catch ‘em all. I’ve heard countless stories like mine: the anxiety, the weight issues, even the kindness of random strangers. I sincerely hope this lasts, because these past few days have been fascinating for me and, I think, for a lot of others too.

I guess the moral of this story is to enjoy this experience were all having together. I don’t know if this whole thing will last, but at least for right now the world is one giant MMO and that is certainly something I can get behind. Also don’t forget to check your bike before you take it out for the first time in years, I really should’ve done that.