Just some bits and bites from the world around us as we head into the home stretch of July, patiently waiting for summer to make its presence known……
……as the Pokémon Go phenomenon begins to take hold, I’m betting on how long this summer fad will last.
However, what do I know? I bet on Beta over VHS all those years ago, I preferred 8-track to cassettes, I’m still playing vinyl records and I’m unconvinced this Twitter thing is here to stay.
Facebook? Maybe, but I’m still waiting it out.
However, my kids seem to be into this Pokémon Go thing, well they’re closer to being grown-ups than kids but they’re kind of both in my mind, and they’re into it as if they’re nostalgic for their youth or something, if a 21 and 19-year-old can be nostalgic for their youth already.
Anyway, they’re out in the real world chasing these things and to me, it beats sitting in a small room tracking down things on a screen, even if they are playing against someone in Southeast Asia.
It’s also making a connection, maybe even verbal, with other people so I’m all for it, within reason of course.
Be safety conscious, of course, and respect private property at all times.
Of course, it’s still too much about people staring into their phones, but at least there’s a little reality and human connection mixed in, so who knows, maybe that kind of stuff will catch on too?
On a personal note, I’m just waiting for this to spark a comeback for Pokémon cards, which I spent a small fortune on when the kids were younger and are now somewhere in the basement collecting dust so, as they say, Go, Pokémon, Go…..
….and speaking of phones, my youngest son’s phone has been out of service for going on a week now.
It’s OK, it should be back amongst the living by the time you read this on Sunday. But, like they say, you don’t know how much you rely on something until it goes AWOL.
How did we ever keep track of our kids before cell phones were invented? Or did the invention of cell phones create a need to keep in contact with our kids at all times, and if it’s not accessible for some reason it creates anxiety that wouldn’t have been there before because we didn’t feel the need to be within reach 24/7?
Now I’m far from a helicopter parent, especially when the kid is 19, still it’s nice to know if he’s looking to be fed or if he’s coming home on the weekend or staying with a buddy, which is all so easy to find out by text.
Of course there’s old-fashioned notes on the counter or that thing called a landline for communication, but that takes more effort and when you’re used to the versatility and ease of a cell phone it just doesn’t happen.
It’s funny how he says he’s feeling pretty lost without his phone too. Even, as he observes, when he’s physically hanging with his buddies in real life and real time, and they are all engrossed while looking down at their phones and he’s, well, looking at them looking at their phones. Ha. The irony of being unconnected when you can actually reach out and physically touch someone….
….so although we are way too dialed into our cell phones and should look up on occasion and see what the real world looks like from time to time, especially when hunting Pokémon, boy do they come in handy in this modern world.
Handy, of course, is a huge understatement, as I recently learned.
