Gaming-related accidents increased by 26.5% during the first 5 months of Pokémon Go being released. This included 2 deaths and $25.5 million in damages.

Gaming-related accidents increased by 26.5% during the first 5 months of Pokémon Go being released

The reports showed during those 148 days, 286 additional crashes occurred in the county, compared to the same period before. Of these, 134 were near pokéstops. In this scenario, it’s crucial to determine that Pokémon Go caused these damages directly, as opposed to just causing people to be outside more, thus more likely to be hit by cars.

To understand how they figured this out, it’s important to remember that in the world of Pokémon Go, there are pokéstops and there are gyms. Pokéstops are where you can get more pokéballs and pick up supplies; gyms are where you battle. You’re supposed to walk around to hit all these spots, but plenty of people cheated by driving to the various stops, then hopping out of the car and picking up some supplies or going for a quick battle. To prevent idiots from doing this, the makers of Pokémon Go

By looking at the numbers, the economists realized that the number of crashes was much higher near pokéstops than gyms, suggesting that the crashes really were caused by people hopping out of cars while playing the game. The increased number of deaths wasn’t just because more people were in the wrong place at the wrong time. Pokémon Go was actually causing people to be stupid. Come on, folks. Catching ‘em all isn’t worth this