They hastily dress, popping out of the house in the middle of the night, not taking their eyes off of their smartphone. It’s all because of Pokémon Go, a new mobile game from Niantic Labs that uses augmented reality. In a matter of days in the United States, it became not just a digital craze, but rather a real social phenomenon. News about Pokémon Go for iOS and Android went viral several times a day, the article in Wikipedia was growing by leaps and bounds, cafes and restaurants were distributing Pokéballs. The police have already caught several criminals hunting for Pokémon, and the market capitalization of Nintendo increased by 7.5 billion dollars just in 5 days. So, as you can tell, the application was a real craze.
The popularity of Pokémon GO increased the income of local businesses such as restaurants and local shops, which happened to be Gyms or Pokéstops, a place to fill in-game resources. With the help of such a craze, people who are fond of this game happen to meet in restaurants, hotels and parks and make friends with one another. They entertain each other and become acquaintances in real life. With the school term starting over, it’s an important time for people to make new friends. Pokémon Go is a great way to spearhead this.
How Pokémon Go has cured social anxiety
Social anxiety can stem from not being able to relate with other people. People with this anxiety often fear that they won’t be easily understood and that may leave to them feel insecure. Pokémon Go has helped this because when various Pokémon Go trainers from all walks of life form to improve their chances of dominating in-game, it instantaneously opens up a common line of dialogue. People suddenly understand each other’s intentions more clearly and they share a common interest that can help in building a bond. For someone in university, this is essential.
Leaving home to go to a university or collage can be a daunting thought when you consider you’ll likely not know anyone. This leaves the door wide open for social anxiety to occur; but because Pokemon Go is a team friendly activity it subconsciously helps us to overcome social barriers.
How to find a Pokémon Go buddy online
The Pokémon Go community is still enormous. Novice players need to unite with friends and teammates to learn new strategies. There are many different online platforms allowing players to interact with other Pokemon Go players, so if you’re looking for local companions you could start looking online first.
From Twitter, to Facebook groups and especially dedicated forums, there are a number of online platforms for Pokémon Go meetups. You can learn a lot about Pokemon Go and advance in the game with the help of others. Playing on your own is fine, but interacting and learning with others can greatly improve your game skills and real life communication.
How are students finding Pokémon Go buddies offline?
Players can join a team, and then capture Pokémon gyms together. As you set out to conquer the Gyms you’ll naturally encounter real life people with like-minded goals. It makes the game so much more exciting when you randomly meet another Pokémon trainer and begin to talk strategies.
The Gyms will have a team color (green, red or yellow). In order to win a defensive tower, you have to fight with the Pokémon that guard it. If the battle is successful for you, you can assign your own Pokémon to protect it. This makes finding the best Pokémon important, and this task is less tedious if you have real life companions to accompany you. Many students have been neglecting their research papers to instead go outside and indulge themselves in this game with their friends; some are even finding new ones while playing.
If you’ve recently gone back to college or university, then keep all of this information in mind. This is the most important time to make new friends and Pokémon Go is a great way to do so. Just make sure to stay safe while playing.
