[Cyclopath]

I have a few friends who play Pokemon Go. I never watched the show when I was little, and don't play the game, so it's more like a passing curiosity to me. This came to my inbox and I found it pretty interesting. As a hiker, I can relate, but it's also somewhat alien to me (again as a hiker) because I'm used to finding the best place to walk, even though 'tis the season for dumpster diving to hike for the sake of hiking instead of for the scenery. Pokemon Go, the first large-scale “augmented reality” game, is settling past its hot trend phase after becoming the video game phenomenon of the year. Many articles have noted unexpected positive effects of the game; that it has helped some people overcome mental health issues like social phobia, agoraphobia, and depression, as well as encouraging exercise through its bonuses for walking distances. Here I briefly discuss how and why these effects occur [...] https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/culture-shrink/201612/how-pokemon-go-helps-mental-health

[Schenk]

I think there are many activities where many, if not all, of the same positive benefits would apply. -bug collecting (or any "collecting" of any natural specimens, leaves, rocks, flowers, shells, you name it) -bird watching -an outside game of hide-n-seek -geocaching - the list goes on the more you think about it. I find it somewhat curious, if not humorous, that there are people (whose qualifications are such that this seems like a waste of their time) spending a lot of time and energy to find evidence that Pokeman is something other than what we see at face value...people wandering around staring at their smart phones playing a game for fun.

[Josh Journey]

[hikersarenumber1]