The hit mobile game Pokemon Go has brought amusement to gamers nationwide since it became available in Taiwan last week, but it has also presented a host of challenges that are set to test the wisdom of policymakers and law enforcement agencies.
With police officers handing out hundreds of tickets to Pokemon Go gamers for violating road safety regulations, the traffic issue seems to be the most testing aspect for authorities.
Minister of Transportation and Communications Hochen Tan (賀陳旦) on Wednesday said in a television interview that his ministry would amend transportation rules within the next two weeks to address the hazards posed by gamers catching Pokemon in traffic, and to prevent obsessed gamers getting in the way at airports, train stations, Taipei Mass Rapid Transit stations and high-speed rail stations.
With traffic violations rampant nationwide, Hochen’s remark was apparently made out of desperation, but he might have forgotten that laws should be made to deal with general, rather than isolated, cases, let alone a cellphone game that could lose popularity as fast as it gained it.
With regulations already in place stipulating punishments for those found using their cellphones while driving vehicles or riding scooters, Hochen might want to rethink his pledge to make new amendments.
The high-profile game also saw thousands of netizens questioning some police officers’ intelligence, as evidenced in a Facebook post that attacked precincts that have ranked efforts to deal with drivers playing Pokemon Go among the most important tasks for their officers.
However, as dubious as online comments often are, such criticism, based on the premise that police officers targeting Pokemon Go fans are redundant, are made without careless observations and fail to do the police justice.
Pokemon pop out on the roads, and many motorists and scooter riders are trying to capture them while driving. The highly addictive nature of the game even led to a Taipei CitiAirbus driver being given a demerit after he was caught playing it while driving.
The bitter yet widespread criticism demonstrates that there is still a long way to go before society can be free of hotheaded and scathing remarks targeting certain groups — in this case, police officers.
Another major concern sparked by the game is the fear that students’ concentration might be harmed, with parents and teachers calling on the Ministry of Education to ask the game’s developers to remove any gaming elements from school campuses.
While this is a legitimate concern, calls for the game to be banned at schools are just wishful thinking.
Would the game’s developers agree to give up the lucrative market? On what legal grounds would the ministry stop them from embedding gaming elements at schools?
As any Taiwanese under 30 can attest, students have always had to contend with temptations that originate from Japan. Over the years, there have been Nintendo Gameboys, Tamagotchi (handheld digital pet) and all sorts of byproducts of hit anime.
Even if Pokemon Go is banned at schools, there will always be another fad that could distract students, and the authorities will never be able to ban all of them. Parents and teachers who opposed Tamagotchi failed to get them banned from schools.
As teachers rush to formulate rules to stop students from playing Pokemon Go in class, they should probably also think about how to diversify their teaching methods to stimulate students’ interest in learning, rather than passively hoping that students will pay more attention if the game is banned.
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