A study conducted in Niort reveals that on average, Pokémon Go players have traveled 70 km in one month since the game was released on French smartphones.
Pokémon Go is an augmented reality game that allows you to capture pokémons while walking on a world map. This is linked to the position of the player on Earth and the latter must move with his smartphone to evolve in the game. A hunt that is talked about a lot. Since its launch last July, the Pokémon Go app has reached all age groups.
It is now at the top of downloads on the App Store and the Google Store. But the debates about it continue. Among the questions, does Pokémon Go really encourage Pokémon hunters to walk more and thus to practice more physical activity, which is beneficial for their health?
To partially answer this question, the IREPS (1) Poitou-Charentes and the Atelier Santé Ville de Niort conducted a from August 18 to 23 with Niort players. An online questionnaire, relayed by social networks, yielded 242 responses.
Play more to move more
The results of this survey show that since the game’s official release in France, 81% of players surveyed believe they walk more. And that’s not all, Pokémon Go changes behaviors and attitudes. 63% of followers say they have lengthened their daily commutes to play, 79% say they sometimes walk just to play, and 80% find walking more enjoyable since playing Pokémon GO. More specifically, the survey reveals that on average, players have traveled 70 km in one month since the game’s release.
Finally, according to the survey carried out, a typical profile of the Pokémon hunter emerges: He is a man (63% of users), aged between 19 and 35 years (67%) and living outside Niort (52.5%). In any case in Poitou-Charentes.
Source: IREPS Poitou-Charentes
The Dark Side of Pokémon Go
These results therefore confirm those of a previous study conducted by the brand of connected pedometer Withings. It showed that young French people walk 1,000 more steps a day since the launch of the Pokémon hunting application.
But despite these positive aspects, the application also has its dark side. It has already caused several serious and even fatal accidents all over the world: falls from a precipice, car accidents, crowd movements. The craze for Pokémon hunting also disrupts health centers which see players disembark in the aisles of hospitals, or organize tournaments within the confines of establishments.
(1) The Regional Health Education and Promotion Authority
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