Outdoor Play Mediated through Pokémon: Facing the Snorlax
First author: WraggYear: 2024
Abstract
Playing outdoors in local environments provides the affordance to experience freedom, explore surroundings, challenge sensorimotor capabilities, and build personal and social skills with others. However, our growing reliance on technology can lead to an increase in sedentary behaviours, whilst the time young people play outdoors continues to decline. This decrease in time spent in outdoor play combined with the marked increase in daily sedentary activities contribute to several negative physical and mental health issues among children. In 2016, Pokémon Go became the most popular game in the history of smartphone games and was among the first games to feature geo-located augmented reality elements. This chapter employs collaborative autoethnographic methods to explore how Pokémon Go mediates active engagement in the outdoors and facilitates opportunities for outdoor play that develops key hallmarks of outdoor education, namely, active movement, inter- and intra-personal skills and local environment awareness.Details
Language: EnglishCountry of affiliation: United Kingdom
Published in: Routledge Handbook of Mobile Technology, Social Media and the Outdoors
Publication type: Book chapter
Source: https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003367536
Games
No Results
Franchises
No Results
Studies
Description: Autoethnographic (collaborative approach within family)
Research type: Non-experimental
Data type: Qualitative
Comparator: none
Control group: no
Pilot study: no
Pre/post measures used: no
Follow-up: no
Sample type: Game(s)
Sample size: 1
Power analysis: no
Sample countries: null
Games studied: Pokémon GO
Franchises studied: Pokémon (F)
Study outcomes: Connectedness to nature, Knowledge