Because of Pokemon Go I never see my son. And I love it

I’ve desperately tried to get my teenage son off the couch and out into the real world during the school holidays. Now, thanks to Pokemon Go, I’ve hardly seen him.

Pokemon Go has changed my life. I haven’t played it but I love it.

For the past two weeks of the school holidays, I have been trying to get my 16-year-old son to walk somewhere other than between his bedroom and the couch, to no avail. No amount of prompting, cajoling or bribing has convinced him do anything other than play computer games and eat.

Fresh air, exercise, dog walking, football ... nothing appealed to the strapping young lad who quite rightly argued he worked hard during school term and intended to make the most of his down time.

But since the release of Pokemon Go, I have hardly seen him.

Beware, parents! Once your kids start playing Pokemon Go, you may see much less of them. (Pic: Supplied)

He rises before me, which is unheard of in our house, and comes back, sometimes eight hours later, having caught buses or walked all over the city in search of the game’s sought-after “lure modules”.

The game, which hit Australia last Thursday, uses GPS and a camera to combine the digital realm with the real world.

Based on the 1990s Pokemon phenomenon, the game is now the most downloaded app in Australia, making it more popular than Tinder or Snapchat.

It involves lures that can be bought and dropped by players at any “Pokestop” (or landmark) to benefit all nearby players.

Because of Pokemon Go my son walks the dogs twice a day without me asking. There are no arguments. He is exhausted but happy.

The game has rewards built in if you walk certain distances — two kilometres, five, 10 kilometres to hatch eggs and capture random Pokemons — the further you go, the better the Pokemon.

It’s making exercise fun.

Lures have been attracting crowds across the globe with fans gathering en masse at various locations across cities.

The Pokemon Go app brings people together — which may explain why it is now more popular than Tinder. (Pic: Supplied)

There are detractors, of course, saying it is only a matter of time before someone gets hit by a car or falls off a cliff because they are watching the screens on their phones as they go.

To that I say there are always risks in life, and a sedentary life on the couch can lead to obesity and diabetes.

The naysayers claim children should have their heads up observing the delights of the scenery around them, instead of having their heads buried in their phones. Wake up. It’s never going to happen.

A game that gets kids off the couch and out in the “real” world is a revolution. Now, how far to the next Pokestop? The further the better.

Deborah FitzGerald is a journalist for the Inner West Courier.