Carolina De La Fuente/ Contributing Writer
“Valor, Mystic or Instinct team?” is a question that many FIU students have been asking each other in the past few days.
Pokéstops, the fountain at FIU for example, have been filled with students who gather together to play the game each night ever since the game’s release.
With a game motivating people to leave their houses and go outside, this has yielded all sorts of situations, both positive and negative.
Police officials are very much aware of this Pokémon trend and are staying vigilant on the streets to avoid any troubles that can come with catching these pocket monsters.
FIU’s chief of police, Alexander D. Casas made a video for FIU’s Facebook page advising students to be aware of their surroundings. He promotes how fun the game can be while also explaining the dangers present, namely playing while driving or getting lured to remote areas by strangers.
“We have had several individuals where they’ve been hurt while playing the application,” said Casas. “Walking around, not paying attention to where they are going, driving their cars, stopping in the middle of the street trying to catch wild Pokémon.”
“We’ve even had victims [that] have been lured to remote areas and have been victimized and have become victims of crime,” said Casas. “While I want [students] to have a good time and play this game because it looks like a lot of fun, I really want [them] to be careful on our FIU campus.”
As the Pokémon Go app becomes increasingly more popular, details of crime and illegal activity has arised from playing the game and has put some individuals in threatening situations.
On July 16, a man who lived in the Palm Coast neighborhood was startled by a loud noise during the early morning. He spotted a white car parked in the road outside of his house, grabbed a handgun, and went outside to investigate.
Two teens looking for Pokémon were mistaken for thieves looking for a house to rob and ended up getting shot.
Also, four teens, in a suburban area just outside of St. Louis, used the game to draw victims and robbed nine people. They used what is called “lure modules” in the game to attract players to the specific Pokéstop.
In Wyoming, a 19-year-old girl found a dead body near the Big Wind River trying to catch a Pokémon by the water.
Even though Chief Casas, and other police departments, warns individuals of the dangers when playing the game, some students believe that there are enough benefits to balance them out.
“I went to Town and Country Mall and I couldn’t believe how packed it was with people playing Pokémon,” says Daniela Hurtado, a junior majoring in marketing. “I saw so many old friends and even met some new people. This game brings people together in ways like never before.”
Many people like Hurtado, who spent their time indoors or playing games at home, finally have a collective reason to be outdoors.
“I actually met up with some friends who are also in team blue with me,” says Santiago Guzman, a senior majoring in Asian studies. “My friend introduced me as my username on the game and one of the players recognized me and my ‘Gyarados’ Pokémon and got super excited to meet me, it was pretty surreal.”
According to students like Hurtado and Guzman, friendships are blooming and the bond over Pokémon Go with your standard passerby is becoming more than just a trend.
While there are risks involved, the benefits of Pokémon Go is breaking communication barriers and that makes it well worth it for some individuals. Some believe that as long as people play responsibly, the positives that come out of playing Pokémon is a step in the right direction.
“I want it to live on and I can see it living well past the original hype especially since Niantic announced that they’re going to be doing bi-weekly updates to the game,” Guzman says.
This is one of the first games of the future—Pokémon Go simultaneously fuses a virtual world with reality. Players continue to explore new places as they wait for what’s to come next. As for now, we are encouraged to keep trying to “catch them all”—but FIUPD reminds us to always remember to be aware of your surroundings.
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