THE new gaming sensation Pokeman Go which has people visiting real places to collect virtual creatures is reclaiming the streets as a playground, according to a Scottish GP.
Dr Margaret McCartney, a family doctor in Glasgow, has praised the craze for its "tantalising side-effect" - encouraging exercise as people go in search of the characters.
She decided to back the trend after spending the school holidays with her eight-year-old son playing the game in Glasgow.
"With the game we are averaging walking 10 to 12 kilometres a day," she said. "And that is just in the evening. I am doing two hours walking after work."
It also increased social interaction as they met other players, she said, describing chats while tracking down creatures in places such as Kelvingrove Park and Glasgow Botanic Gardens.
Writing in the British Medical Journal, Dr McCartney noted pros and cons to the game have been reported since its launch earlier this summer.
One player walked 140 miles (225km) and lost two stone (12.7kg) while collecting all of the characters, she said, and there have been claims that the app could ease the burden of obesity and Type 2 diabetes.
However, these claims are not from scientific studies but anecdotal evidence, she cautioned.
She also noted apparent dangers. Writing in the BMJ, she said: "Pokémon hunters have been rescued by emergency services from sea and caves. The game draws people to real places, making it easy for criminals to spot congregation points. Teenagers in London were robbed of their phones at gunpoint, and US players have been involved in real shoot-outs."
However, while believing that "Pokemon Go can and should be made safer" she used her editorial to draw attention to the unseen benefits.
Dr McCartney said: "We never hear about the things that didn't happen: the heart attacks prevented through more exercise, or the vitamin D deficiency that geeks have avoided, blinking in the sunlight while catching a Pikachu monster.
"Most health apps that promote physical activity tend to get users who want to be healthy. Pokemon Go isn't marketed as a health app, but players still end up doing a lot of walking."
This, she told The Herald, suggested "the way for health apps to go is not to be health apps, but to be fun." Dr McCartney continued: "I really believe in having open public spaces which are for people, not cars. I do not see people going outside the way I did when I was little and one of the reasons for that, I think, is cars. This is a way of using open spaces for pleasure."
Her article concluded: "The possibilities for apps to make the streets an active, reclaimed playground in which to have interconnected fun are boundless. Increased physical activity is a tantalising side-effect. Game on."
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules here