Here’s what David had to say:
“I think it’s an absolute joke. It’s just another way for kids and adults to not communicate and to keep their head on their cellphone and walk into things. I’m waiting for someone to walk off a cliff looking for a Pokemon Go and I will feel zero bad for that person.
“It’s so sad to see what is happening. People are so interested in looking down that they’re forgetting to look up and realise what a great world we have.
“It’s just terrible. I think that people are forgetting to talk and communicate and they’re so worried about their cellphone that their life is passing them by.
“They’re going to wake up one day and they’re going to realise that it’s all gone. They could of had a life and they didn’t.”
As it turns out, a week earlier, Samson’s premonition had already come to pass, with two men sustaining injury after falling off a cliff north of San Diego. The pair fell after climbing a fence and disregarding warning signs while playing Pokemon Go.
With well over 30 million downloads, the world’s most popular mobile app is being credited with coaxing kids and adults to exercise by having to walk to play – it’s apparently even relieving anxiety and depression which is, of course, fantastic if true – but the “distracted from the real world” nature of play has resulted in an increasing number of disturbing incidents around the globe which include car accidents, robberies, assaults and extensive damage to property.
Clearly, there’s an element of media hype around this type of misadventure – if it bleeds, it leads – and pretty much every pastime has some level of risk attached to it, but nonetheless, it points to an ever-hastening cultural shift in attention.
In the world of sport, we recently witnessed Aussie tennis sensation Nick Kyrgios spouting his love for Pokemon Go ahead of his chosen career on social media before being dumped out of the Toronto Masters in the opening round by a Canadian teenager playing in his first ever ATP Tour-level match.
The night before the match, he tweeted this:
Just quietly, how good is Pokemon Go. Honestly been playing that more than tennis ???
— Nicholas Kyrgios (@NickKyrgios) July 24, 2016
True story, get more excited for an egg to hatch then a break point converted hahaha ???
— Nicholas Kyrgios (@NickKyrgios) July 24, 2016
What does it mean? Probably more of a statement about Kyrgios’ mindset at the moment, but again, an interesting scenario continues to brew.
I believe the issue here is the further drift away from our emotional connectedness to one other and to the planet.
Isn’t this just another dopamine distraction from the things that really matter? Another way to keep us looking down? Yes, fear is a primary driver of the mainstream agenda at the moment – and sometimes it’s easier to ignore that – but wandering around looking for virtual reality creatures with your head physically and mentally buried in your cellphone is probably not the best response.
Taking a walk is a marvellous thing, but so much is lost when you don’t connect to the real world around you. It’s sad to think it now takes the appearance of a Vaporeon to get thousands out and about in Central Park.
Clearly, cellphones are a vital communication tool in modern society – and I don’t discount the benefits of gameplay in that statement for a moment.
But as spoken word artist and activist Richard Williams, aka Prince EA, said in relation to his 2014 video “Can We Auto-Correct Humanity?”, which has now had nearly 18 million views, “You need not delete your social networks or destroy your cellphones, the message is simple, be balanced, be mindful, be present, be here.”
If you honestly feel that Pokemon Go forms an integral part of your balanced lifestyle and the pendulum has not swung too far in one direction, that’s all well and good, but while I’m not a fan of the type of stuff David Samson can sometimes utter, his lack of compassion aside, I’m walking with him on this one – and we’re unlikely to trip over a park bench in the process.
Image: Flickr Creative Commons