Pokémon Go helps 67 year old widow reconnect with her city

Since its introduction in July of 2016, Pokémon Go has in a way innovated and brought together the world of mobile gaming. Yes, the game has its faults but it also should be celebrated for the ways it helps people exponentially. Whether it be getting people going on more walks for exercise, or just getting some with mental illnesses simply out of bed, Pokémon Go commonly has a use for almost everyone. For Sofia, a 67 year old widow in Spain, it helped her reconnect and fall in love with her city all over again.

From The Conversation, who covered this story, they delved a bit in to Sofia’s story and history. Sofia lost her husband to cancer a decade ago and at first found it hard to fight her grief but turned to the help of her family. Specifically, her seven year old grandson, Diego, was a significant one. It was Diego who introduced Sofia to the game. From here, the two would go on tasks and activities out in their world of Baladona, Spain, with her grandson showcasing the game to be an integral part. He would teach her how to catch Pokémon, with the game for Sofia, “reinventing everyday experiences of mundane spaces.”

It’s safe to say like many of us Sofia fell in love with the game, and even eventually opened her own account for the app. She would wander the streets of Baladona and would even mix up her route on tasks as medial as grocery shopping in order to catch some Pokémon. It helped her connection with her grandson grow, and even allowed for her to be seen as “the outstandingly super-cool” grandma.

Pokémon Go helped Sofia in more ways than one, and as the article (which is an excellent read) continues,  it shows she isn’t the only exception. It talks about the benefits and connections that can come from the game that is even social worker approved.

Games like this have helped people across the world and something like that should be celebrated. Yay for Pokémon Go! Hooray for games being one of the few medias to achieve something this special.