A little kindness can go a long way.
My boyfriend and I enjoy spending our Sundays out hunting for Pokémon with the Pokémon Go application (app) on our phones. Right now, as in LITERALLY right now, there are legendary Pokémon available in raid battles. I can elaborate on what raids are at another time, but what’s important for you to know is that raids require multiple people to fight a single Pokémon at the same time via the internet. Unfortunately, there are instances when a player will have problems – such as their phone will not connect to the app’s network or to their phone provider just has weak service at that particular location – and they can’t get into the raid in time. Some players are willing to back out of the raid and restart the timer, others are not.
I don’t blame Niantic, the creator of Pokémon Go, and I don’t blame phone providers for these connection issues. Sometimes, technology is just iffy. I wish this wasn’t the case, but nothing and no one is perfect.
Twice over the last weekend, I witnessed this happen – where someone couldn’t connect – and I have found a solution. Not for every instance, but so far, it has worked.
My phone has the hotspot feature, which means that my phone has the ability to become a Wi-Fi connection for other devices to access the internet through my provider. By turning on my hotspot and offering these users the password, they are usually able to access the game and get into the raid.
I have yet to see anyone else do this for another player, and I don’t really know why that is, but I think that working together in real life and online is a priceless ability. Being human doesn’t stop when you pull up an online persona. We’re all human, and we all share the same air – and in Reno, we tend to run into each other over-and-over again, so it’s usually good practice to be cordial.
I will say, however, that most players are excited to be out talking to one another again – like we did when the app first launched. Some of the players I talked to said they felt like they were the only one playing for a long time because they simply didn’t see anyone else doing it.
These kinds of interactions are what makes being alive in this age so fascinating. You learn about other perspectives and struggles that people are facing. And in my case, I like to take what I learned and apply it to other mediums, like this blog. Not everyone plays Pokémon Go, but I bet they play something. And wouldn’t it be nice if they could talk to those people both on and off the net?
Kiminy Cricket 