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.

Even with the immense popularity and positives of Pokémon Go, there also exists many negatives to the mobile phenomenon. First, the issue of safety is a major topic of debate with regards to Pokémon Go.

As smart phones have taken over the modern world, the app provides even further incentive for users to wander the environment with their eyes glued to their cellular devices. Travel to any busy area in Encinitas such as Highway 101 and you can find people of all ages with their heads down hunting for Pokémon.

Naturally, there are obvious risks to wandering busy areas with your eyes glued to your phone, and there have already been many Pokémon Go-related accidents around the world.

One example occurred about a couple miles from SDA in July, when two “trainers” glued to their phones were not paying attention to where they were walking and walked right off the side of the road. One fell approximately 50 feet while the other fell about 80 feet down to the beach below, according to The San Diego Union Tribune.

Similarly, drivers can also be affected. Many players are now provided with even more incentive to utilize their phones while they drive, and this can be especially dangerous for the target audience of the game: young teenagers. Motor-vehicle accidents are the leading cause of death for teenagers, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and when faced with the urge to check for any new Pokémon while maybe stopped at an intersection, many teenagers may give in and increase their chances of getting involved in an accident.

Furthermore, Pokémon Go is not only a distraction but an annoyance. Many people do not appreciate the amount of distracted people wandering the streets, from Encinitas surfers frustrated by players crowding the beaches to business owners suffering from people crowding their businesses with no intention of purchasing their products. Players are becoming more and more addicted to their phones, and rather than getting outside to walk for the sake of exercise, people are wasting their time gazing at the digital creatures that inhabit their screens rather than paying attention to the beautiful world around them. So while Pokémon Go may have revolutionized cellular gaming, it also may have signaled the beginning of a world where people are truly slaves to their phones.