‘Pokémon Go’ Raises Safety Issues

After days of excitement and full dose of adventure with the latest craze "Pokémon Go," players shared their tales of dangerous encounters with the new app.


The hit mobile app "Pokémon Go" is giving millions of people all over the world their first taste of futuristic technology. However, it also raises questions about whether the game's locations and mapping features are luring player into danger.

Pokémon Go gives players the experience of being Pokémon trainers in real life by using their phones to capture virtual creatures that happen to appear hovering right in front of them, in the real world. The game also includes the classic item such as Poké Balls, which are needed to catch monsters, and can be bought at PokéStops. The goal of the game is to capture as much Pokémon creatures as possible in order to fight other players at "gyms."

Both PokéStops and gyms are usually located in public places such as libraries, churches and landmarks flagged by the game on digital map.

The game uses technologies built into modern smartphones, such as cameras and GPS, to create the digital map and determine the location of the creatures and places to visit. It also relies on the players' suggestions and a database from a previous game to determine viable sites for gyms and PokéStops.

However, these placements raise questions on whether players could get hurt by searching unsafe areas -- such as dark alleys, along the river, bridge, or unfamiliar neighborhood -- while staring the smartphone screen.

Days after the game's launch, players shared images on social media about their dangerous encounters, such as Pokémon popping up near subway tracks. In O'Fallon, Mo., four teens awaited at PokéStops to rob arriving players. Another player drove to a PokéStop in Columbia, S.C., and found herself parked outside what appeared to be a shuttered community center.

The appearance of Pokémon, meanwhile, is generated randomly by an algorithm that matches creature characteristics with the geographic makeup of a player’s location in the real world—think the goldfish-like Magikarp appearing by a lake.

Niantic blocks creatures from roadways, airport runways, bodies of water and other areas. The company declined to provide a list of fenced-off locations or discuss how it selects those spots.

“If you’re a tourist in a city having fun, this could be a potentially dangerous app,” said Brian Tomaszewski, associate professor at the Rochester Institute of Technology, who specializes in geographic information systems.

However, players can always keep in mind the warning that was written on the screen before the game loads.

Source: The Wall Street Journal

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