People in Boston are obsessed with Pokemon Go
It's kind of insane.
Does it seem like way more people than usual are staring into their phones? Have you seen roving packs of teenagers holding their cells up outside seemingly innocuous landmarks like a church or fire station? You’re witnessing the Pokemon Go effect, and it’s taking the nation — and the Boston area — by storm.
#PokemonGO is taking over Davis Square #Boston pic.twitter.com/NLLiP3lHyy
— Evan Shortiss 🇮🇪 🇺🇸 (@evanshortiss) July 10, 2016
there was a pokemon go party here in boston yesterday and 300+ people were there YET I WAS NOT ONE OF THOSE PEOPLE AND I AM SO SAD
— kyrin (@chunky_rat) July 11, 2016
https://www.instagram.com/p/BHntK1PhbIN/
https://twitter.com/theurbanologist/status/752561900345524225
Pokemon Go is a new mobile game that uses augmented reality to let players catch Pokemon — the wildly popular cartoon creatures that first appeared in video games, TV shows, and movies during the late ‘90s — in real-life locations. The app generates Pikachus, Charmanders, and Squirtles for players to catch as they walk around their neighborhood, with landmarks like churches, academic buildings, and police stations serving as meeting points known in the game as gyms where players can do battle.
The game’s popularity isn’t just anecdotal. It launched July 6, and it’s currently the most popular free app and the top grossing app in Apple’s App Store. According to a survey of Android users by SimilarWeb, Pokemon Go has been downloaded twice as many times as popular dating app Tinder, and will soon have more daily active users than Twitter. Boston in particular seems to have caught the Pokemon bug — as noted by The Boston Globe, Boston is second in a city-by-city ranking of Google searches for the term “Pokemon Go” behind only Detroit.
Whether they’re playing on the T…
Dude on the train double-fisting Pokemon pic.twitter.com/AEappKH5st
— Josh Gee (@jgee) July 11, 2016
https://twitter.com/Trainer_Mia/status/751647374548824064
Catching my Pokemon around Boston! #PokemonGO pic.twitter.com/7x78wUxo7c
— Joscelyn Amar (@JoscelynAmarXD) July 7, 2016
Or just having fun outside…
I ain’t wanna catch him cuz I already got one so we just took pics with him lol pic.twitter.com/07KROOlEWY
— Michael Christmas (@MickeyChristmas) July 7, 2016
https://twitter.com/cc_chapman/status/751126896436449280
https://twitter.com/IVstream/status/751085774808965124
People are downright obsessed with Pokemon Go.
There are an absolutely absurd number of people walking around playing PokemonGo in East Cambridge
— Brian Hatfield (@brianhatfield) July 9, 2016
Currently a wedding going on at the Boston commons but the majority of people here are playing PokemonGo
— Monica from Santa Monica (@OooohItsJ) July 9, 2016
Literally everyone on the street in Allston is playing Pokemon Go
— disco-leaning gay man (@austindotTV) July 9, 2016
The game isn’t just for the younger set, though. It’s bringing people of all ages together.
Daughter explaining #PokemonGO 2 mom & then helps her download it #Boston pic.twitter.com/krGpu85UY1
— BPSNightmare #NoOn2 (@BPSNightmare) July 11, 2016
https://twitter.com/mulanenthusiast/status/752538944139436032
FRPD and several neighborhood folks hunting Pokemon pic.twitter.com/CUL4orkNpg
— Fall River Police (@FallRiverPD) July 10, 2016
Some people are even learning things while playing.
I’m really learning a lot about the local Allston graffiti scene through #PokemonGO.
— Casey Nulph (@CantGetE_Nulph) July 11, 2016
https://twitter.com/pete_c_/status/751830692787462144
It’s not just about catching Pokemon for yourself, either. According to a Reddit post, people have continued to set lures (an in-game item available for purchase that draws Pokemon to a certain spot) at both Brigham and Women’s and Boston Children’s Hospital.
“It’s just nice to see that the lures keep getting placed so the kids in the hospital can still play the game, Reddit user Wickedcoddah wrote. “Kids that can’t go outside still have a chance.”
In a less endearing (but still amusing) use of the game, someone reported a Pokemon sighting to the Boston 311 mobile app, usually reserved for potholes or parking violations.
It’s @BOS311 and me. I know it’s our destiny… pic.twitter.com/ebdFkGmCtu
— City of Boston (@CityOfBoston) July 11, 2016
If you’re going to play, just remember to heed the game’s frequent warning: Be alert at all times.
https://twitter.com/justingraeber/status/751117424720740352
If you are going to be playing #PokemonGO please do so safely!! Just saw someone almost get hit by car while playing .
— Boston Girl (@boston_girl79) July 11, 2016
#PokémonGo in Boston, so I’m supposed to go behind this building just cause of the PokéStop with a lure module… pic.twitter.com/z1dOFFgCbG
— Jean-Luc Pierite (@neshoba78) July 11, 2016
Otherwise you might end up like this guy.
I fell down
— plain ole greg (@gregmurphy) July 10, 2016
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