What is the difference between the Pokemon Go craze and Safety’s obsession with hunting for and controlling hazards? Both are just imaginary fantasy and achieve very little except disconnect us from people and reality. As Rob Long says in his comments below – you’ve spotted all your hazards (or collected all your pokemons) – now what?
Pokémon Go – Safety Tips and Resources
I recently spent 5 days in hospital and pretty much oblivious to what was going on in the outside world – I came out and heard about the Nice truck incident, the shooting of Police in Denver and, noticed a lot more people walking around staring at their smart phones. Then I started hearing about the Pokemon Go craze. The first story I heard was from a friend who was reversing out of a car park when her rear sensors started going off – she got out and found somebody underneath the back of her car looking for some kind of creature. I’ve heard positive stories of people and families getting out and about more, walking lots and looking for these things. I am sure some video game hermits are discovering how bright it can actually be outside and how damaging the sun can be to skin that may not be used to it!
I went to do the beach on the weekend, it was a beautiful winter’s day and it seemed that there were a lot more people down there than normal but oblivious to the scenery and glued to their phones. The saddest thing I saw was young child walking along (no phone in hand) with both her parents well behind and glued to their phone screens! There are plenty of stories now emerging of people falling off cliffs, car accidents, getting lost, breaking into houses, getting hit by cars all whilst mesmerised by finding Pokemons (see https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oeZvaNOiS4A)
Of course there will be people cashing in on this (apart from Nintendo adding $8billion+ to their share price) – I’ve noticed a few restaurants and retailers with sighs out the front declaring things like “Rare Pokemons Inside – For Paying Customers Only”.
It will be very interesting to see how Employers, Venue Operators and other Retailers deal with this new craze in regards to protecting their liabilities – just like they did with planking and the Harlem shuffle! I’m thinking the “5 B’s” see: https://safetyrisk.net/the-5-bs-of-safety-conversion/
The craze will likely die out as quick as it started but there are sure to be a few victims in the mean time and it is a real worry that so many seem to find it so hard to separate fantasy from reality. Of course by-products abound and here are a few Pokemon Go safety and security resources (Thanks to Sheri Suckling for sharing)
Safety and security concerns around Pokemon Go
https://tfmainsights.com/pokemon-go/
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-nintendo-pokemon-spain-idUSKCN0ZY1NH
Do you have any thoughts? Please share them below