Picture the scene. Sunday afternoon at the local park. Kids are tearing about.  Climbing, running, jumping on swings and slides. Meanwhile parents sit close by, sipping on takeaway lattes as they check Facebook and emails on their phones. This is not an untypical scene and is shared without judgement. I’m sure we would agree it is a common enough reflection of our technology-dominated times.

How about this alternative? Kids and parents running around the park together on what looks like a technology-instigated treasure hunt? High-fiving as another objective is achieved. Excitement and anticipation building as a new challenge arises. Roars of disappointment through a near miss. Kids and parents as a team, collaborating, solving problems and engaging in some physical exercise.

The social side of Pokemon Go: an impossible Utopian dream?

The week-old phenomenon of Pokemon Go seems to be facilitating just that. It already has more followers than Twitter and is yet another example of how when technology captures the imagination it can spread through the populous like wildfire.

1. Engaging in and sharing a collective experience

Instead of using technology as a way to share personal experiences and thoughts as we do through social media, Pokemon Go seems to be all about engaging in and sharing a collective experience through augmented reality (AR). Research has shown that such AR technology is already enabling collaboration in a range of disciplines from science and engineering to design, law enforcement and even archaeology. Such systems can improve performance times and mental efforts in collaborative design.

2. Enhancing our ability to interact with the real world

Presentations have been developed to allow users to walk around in the real world while 3D scientific data provides them with a context. One key lesson learned from such systems is that users interact with augmented products as effectively as they do with real objects. We are able to suspend our own reality as we immerse ourselves in this artificial one.

3. Practicing people and soft skills

Some studies even go so far as claiming AR enhances our natural face-to-face communication cues. Role playing, problem solving, critical thinking, team skills, competition, creativity and imagination all seem to be virtues supported by this new technology. Interestingly these skills are also essential for success in the 21^st Century economy.

Opinion is polarized about Pokemon Go

People are even putting signs up outside their houses saying go away and get a life. Others are claiming it as the precursor to a whole new digital age. One could argue it is the first mass human experiment in augmented reality. Nintendo are laughing all the way to the bank. Their share price is up more than 86% in a week, adding almost USD $15bn to their market value.

One thing is clear, it’s a shift in the way in which we engage with technology

If anything it reverses the trend of recent times and gets us out there working together again. As technology started to isolate us, it has once again stimulated our creative collaboration. Even if you are a lone Pokemon Go hunter you will eventually subscribe to the idea of this community of interest as you gather with other like-minded folk. There was a mad rush in New York’s Central Park as a ‘rare’ Pokemon was discovered and word got out. The rise in such ‘social worlds’ is evidenced in other high growth areas such as trade fairs like Comicon or festivals like Coachella or Glastonbury.

Will you be embracing the social side of Pokemon Go?

Whether we love or loathe Pokemon Go it’s here for a while (until the next big thing). We all know we can’t stem the tide of technology. Maybe we should adopt a different approach and embrace it. Use it as a chance to hang together and have fun. Maybe even rediscover that elusive space where our kids actually want to spend time with us, rejoining a world of social collaboration.