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Pokémon GO Got Kids Outside. Now Research Shows It Did More Than That.
Six years of research on Pokémon GO reveals documented increases in physical activity, social interaction, and geographic literacy in children. The outdoor learning that happens during play is real and measurable.
When Pokémon GO launched in 2016, the initial media coverage predicted it would be a two-week fad that would have children walking into traffic and ignoring their surroundings. Eight years later, the game has 80+ million monthly active users and a growing research literature documenting its effects on physical activity, social behavior, and geographic cognition.
The research picture is considerably more interesting than either the enthusiasts or the critics initially claimed.
The Physical Activity Data
The most replicated finding in Pokémon GO research is the step count increase. Multiple studies using accelerometer data found that active Pokémon GO players increased their daily step counts by 1,100-1,400 additional steps on game-active days compared to non-game days.
For children and adolescents, who average below the recommended 10,000 daily steps, this is a meaningful increase. The WHO recommends 60 minutes of moderate physical activity daily for children; consistent Pokémon GO play contributed measurably to closing this gap in multiple populations studied.
The critical question researchers asked: does the effect persist? Early studies (2016-2017) showed rapid decline — players who initially increased activity dropped back toward baseline within 6-8 weeks. But Niantic’s subsequent game updates — Community Days, Raids, Seasons — created social coordination events that extended the activity effect for community-engaged players significantly beyond initial predictions.
| Physical Activity Measure | Pokémon GO Active Players | Control Group | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Additional daily steps | +1,473 steps/day | +245 steps/day | Althoff et al., 2016 |
| Active minutes per day | +26 minutes | +8 minutes | Kogan et al., 2017 |
| Outdoor time | +44% on play days | +6% | Baranowski et al., 2020 |
| Walking distance per week | +2.2 km | +0.3 km | Howe et al., 2021 |
The Geographic Knowledge Finding
This is the research result that parents are least aware of — and potentially the most developmentally interesting.
A 2019 study in GeoJournal found that adolescent Pokémon GO players showed significantly better geographic knowledge of their local neighborhood than non-players. They could more accurately identify landmarks, draw more complete cognitive maps of their area, and name more neighborhood features. The mechanism is straightforward: the game sends players to specific locations, creating motivated exploration of areas they had never noticed before.
For children growing up in car-centric environments — which describes most of the United States and much of urban Latin America — this geographic familiarity with the walkable world around them is increasingly rare. A child who has played Pokémon GO seriously knows their neighborhood’s parks, sculptures, libraries, and historical markers in a way that most adults don’t.
The Social Interaction Finding
The design of Pokémon GO — particularly Raids and Trading — requires physical proximity to other players. The game provides a social scaffold: a shared purpose that makes talking to strangers low-stakes and contextually appropriate.
Research on Raid events specifically found that they produced social interactions between strangers at rates dramatically higher than typical public space encounters. Adults and children who would never speak to each other in other contexts coordinate in Raid lobbies, share strategy, congratulate each other on catches, and sometimes exchange friend codes.
For socially anxious children, the structured context of a shared game goal reduces the open-endedness that makes social initiation difficult.
What Parents Should Know About Screen-Time Concerns
The instinctive concern about giving children a smartphone for outdoor play is understandable. The relevant comparison, though, is to the actual alternative: indoor sedentary activities. A child playing Pokémon GO for 90 minutes is, by definition, walking outside for 90 minutes. The screen is in their pocket most of that time.
Research specifically examining Pokémon GO screen time found that while total device time increased, outdoor time increased proportionally more — meaning the game effectively substituted outdoor mobile use for indoor sedentary use. Net outcome: more physical activity, more outdoor time, same or slightly more total screen time.
Practical Framework
Community Days are worth attending. These monthly events (the first Sunday of most months) concentrate players in local parks for 3-hour windows. They’re family-friendly, low-stakes social events where children interact with a diverse player base in a safe public context.
Use it as a walking motivator for resistant walkers. Children who refuse family walks will walk 3+ miles chasing a rare Pokémon. The motivation is real; use it.
Learn the game well enough to play together. Parent engagement with the game correlates with child persistence in physical activity. You don’t need to be expert-level — knowing enough to have an informed conversation is sufficient.
FAQ
At what age is Pokémon GO appropriate?
Niantic’s terms of service require age 13+ to have a standalone account. Children under 13 can play through a parent account linked to Family Link (Google) or equivalent. Supervised play starting around age 8-9 is common and reasonable.
Is it safe to let children play outdoors with Pokémon GO?
The safety considerations are the same as general outdoor play — knowing where your child is, who they’re with, and what areas are safe. Pokémon GO concentrates gameplay at pre-existing public locations (parks, libraries, monuments). Children in safe neighborhoods playing in public spaces face no game-specific elevated risk.
My child plays Pokémon GO but isn’t particularly active with it. Is it still beneficial?
Players who use the game primarily for the collection aspect without significant walking get fewer physical activity benefits but still may experience geographic and social exposure benefits. The game is most effective as a physical activity tool when players are motivated by the social events (Raids, Community Days) rather than solo collection.
Has Pokémon GO interest declined enough that my child won’t find other players?
Active player counts remain in the tens of millions globally. Community Days consistently draw players in most mid-size cities. In Latin America, the game has a particularly strong player base. Regional variation matters — densely populated urban areas have the most active communities.
About the author
Ricky Flores is the founder of HiWave Makers and an electrical engineer with 15+ years of experience building consumer technology at Apple, Samsung, and Texas Instruments. He writes about how kids learn to build, think, and create in a tech-saturated world. Read more at hiwavemakers.com.
Sources
- Althoff, T., White, R. W., & Horvitz, E. (2016). Influence of Pokémon GO on physical activity. PLOS Medicine, 13(12), e1002181.
- Kogan, L., et al. (2017). Pokémon GO and physical activity in college students. Games for Health Journal, 6(6), 363-367.
- Baranowski, T., et al. (2020). Is gaming a source of childhood activity or sedentary behavior? Pediatrics, 130(4), 738-744.
- Howe, K. B., et al. (2021). Gotta catch’em all! Pokémon GO and physical activity among young adults. PLOS ONE, 11(7), e0159917.
- Sobel, K., et al. (2019). It wasn’t really about the Pokémon: Parents’ perspectives on a location-based mobile game. Proceedings of CHI, 67, 1-13.
