Enhanced Community Through Augmented Reality: Social Benefits of Pokémon Go

Pokémon Go is an augmented reality game in which players travel through the real world catching fictitious creatures using a smartphone. Based on the game's rewards for social interaction and visiting historical sites, we hypothesized that Pokémon Go would enhance players' sense of belonging to their community. We recruited players to participate in a brief, anonymous survey at Pokémon Go events and via social media. The survey measured personal demographics, game-related demographics, sense of belonging to the community where participants play Pokémon Go, and questions regarding whether participants have met someone, visited a new location, or patronized a new business through playing Pokémon Go. 449 respondents completed the survey. 88% reported meeting someone through playing Pokémon Go, 78% reported visiting a new location, and 35% reported patronizing a new business. Pokémon Go level significantly predicted sense of belonging to the community in which participants play Pokémon Go as well as the odds of meeting someone, visiting a new location, and patronizing a new business. Results suggest that Pokémon Go strengthens players' sense of belonging and engagement with their community.