This past summer of 2016 saw the release of an app that took the world by storm: “Pokémon Go.” It made headlines, influenced millennials in their daily lives, and got smartphone users up and moving in a way Michelle Obama has never been able to achieve.

The app, which involves moving around in popular areas to catch Pokémon virtually placed throughout the real world, has sparked controversy since its sudden rise to fame. Its benefits are pretty clear: encouraging kids to go outside, sparking social gatherings that consist of Pokémon hunting rather than drinking and doing drugs, and, of course, the pure enjoyment the game brings. However, a significant number of people argue that going outside is useless if kids are staring at their phones, that the game has potential dangers, or that it’s just plain stupid.

Those people are missing the perks of the app. Even as someone who knew absolutely nothing about Pokémon (except that Pikachu was a thing that existed), I have a lot of fun going out to try and “catch them all.” It’s a lot of fun to get in the car with friends and drive to a heavily Pokémon populated place (Carlsbad Village Drive, The Forum, and Torrey Pines hiking trails just to name a few) to walk around for a few hours with the hope of catching one you’ve never seen before. And these outings, while initiated by the app, often end up with dinner outings, dips at the beach, and tons of jokes. In other words, Pokémon Go brings friends together and gives them something fun to do. I’ve even heard of people making new friends with fellow players while walking around through sharing tips and directing the way to rare Pokémon in the area.

I also know people who grew up watching Pokémon, collecting cards, and buying merchandise. For those people, the app lets them enjoy the obsession of their childhoods, letting them feel like real Pokémon trainers.

And, of course, the most obvious benefit of all is the walking. Forget the morning runs and trip to the gym; a few hours of Pokémon hunting can rack up over 10,000 steps.

While people like to obsess over the ‘horror stories’ of people falling off cliffs chasing after Pokémon, blaming those incidents on the app is like blaming a knife for a murder. The app even has a warning in its intro, advising players to watch their steps and avoid trespassing.

In reality, Pokémon Go is a fun and interactive app that gets kids moving and socializing in a unique way. Compared to other apps and computer games, that’s pretty rare.