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Pokemon Go Could Add 2.83 Million Years To Users' Lives, Says Study (cnn.com)
An anonymous reader quotes a report from CNNMoney: A new study from Microsoft Research found that the most interested Pokemon Go players took 26% more steps than before using the app. The largest behavior changes were seen among sedentary users. No matter their gender, age, weight or lifestyle, Pokemon Go users began to move more -- taking an extra 194 steps a day once they started using the app. (That's the equivalent of walking roughly one tenth of a mile.) The researchers estimate that Pokemon Go has added 144 billion steps to U.S. physical activity. That's 143 roundtrips to the moon. The study was published online this month in the Cornell Library University. Since activity reduces mortality risks, the researchers estimated that Pokemon Go could add 2.83 million years to the life expectancy of an assumed 25 million U.S. users. Based off research that showed walking reduces mortality, the researchers calculated that Pokemon Go users who continued to walk an extra 1,000 steps a day would enjoy 41.4 days of additional life expectancy. The Microsoft scientists examined data shared by 31,793 users of Microsoft Band, a wearable device, and Bing, the company's search engine. They compared the movement data from the wearables with users' web search queries. Pokemon Go players were identified by web searches that indicated they were playing the game. The Microsoft team also looked at four of the most popular health apps on Apple and Android devices. They found these apps had little impact on a person's behavior. The activity levels of Pokemon Go users changed far more.
Eat a vegetable-based diet and you'll life a lot longer.
Longer, maybe, but also a whole lot more miserable.
Let's subtract all the people who get shot, mauled or otherwise physically harmed for hunting Pokemon where they shouldn't, along with those smart individuals who become victims of accidents because they wanted to hunt some Pokemon where no smart human would willingly go (like, say, the middle of a busy interstate). How many years older do we then get?
Or is that ok because it only weeds out the ... let's say less viable individuals?
We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
When Niantic decided that all players with rooted devices were no longer welcome, that pretty much ended the game for me. I was playing it with my spouse, and getting more exercise, but I shouldn't have to jump through yet more hoops to use this product. I'd do just as well reading a book while walking.
Some devices are rooted by default, some by choice. That alone is not an indicator of cheating.
It might be easier to measure how many people died than it would be how many people's lives it saved. Sure we can point fingers at the guy who crashed his car playing pokemon whilst driving; but what about the guy who played pokemon instead of doing some other dumb teen thing. If pokemon kept him from joining a gang and getting shot, for example.
You can't really say "Pokémon" caused X more people to die, because we don't know the net affect. Extra people may have survived because of it.
"That's the way to do it" - Punch
Well, there may be a small health benefit to walking 1/10th of a mile. But, interest in the app will fade (HAS faded), and even that little bit of walking will subside. Getting and taking care of a dog will have a person doing a LOT more walking, AND will encourage social interaction... unlike Pokey-Go, which keeps users focused on their devices. I want to see some stats about the rate of Pokey-Go users becoming victims of crime... as the first rule of personal safety in public spaces is to maintain situational awareness, which these players are sorely missing.