5 Ways Learning About Diversity is Like Pokémon Go (& 1 Way They Are Very Different)

I found you Pikachu!

It's official. Pokémon Go is the newest nationwide obsession. People are glued to their phones, trying to capture as many Pokémon as humanly possible. Diversity issues have captured the nation's attention as well, but for very different - and tragic - reasons. The shooting at the Orlando nightclub, the deaths of Black men at the hands of police officers, and the sniper attack of 5 Dallas police officers have left Americans reeling. These recent events are overwhelming for many and perhaps that is part of the reason Pokémon Go is so popular. At a time when so much of the news is bad news, it's nice to have some kind of escape.

But you can do both - enjoy Pokémon Go and learn about diversity. In fact, both are great activities to do alone or with others - especially kids. Read on and discover what they have in common (it's more than you think!).

• You have to be an active participant: Pokémon Go is not your typical video game. It requires you to move. Learning about diversity is similar. Sure you could sit around, read books, and let the diversity come to you, but you wouldn't get very far. You need to get up, go to new places, and see new things in order to get the full experience.
• The chase is only the beginning: You can't just capture your Pokémon. You also have to train your Pokémon, fight at gyms, and visit pokéstops. When learning about diversity, you can't listen to Lemonade once and then call it a day. You need to be consistently learning new things, having discussions, and going to events. It can still be fun! Just don't stop at one thing and think you are done.
• It's everywhere: Pokémon have showed up in all sorts of unlikely places - like the National Holocaust Museum and the 9/11 Memorial - yikes! Diversity is similarly everywhere. You can't really escape it even if you wanted to (I'm trusting that you don't want to). You're faced with it so you might as well embrace it.
• It's constantly changing: The game was just released in the US exactly one week ago. It is insanely popular, so like any smart app developer, Nintendo has already released updates. In order to keep up, you gotta get the update! There may be kinks in the beginning as you get used to the new version, but it's typically worth it. Same with diversity. For instance, if you are having a discussion about race and all you can talk about is slavery - it's time to update your system...
• It's best with kids: Let's face it - kids are quicker than we are. They are also fearless. And they soak up information like a sponge. Sure they need a little bit of guidance, or a ride over to the latest pokéstop, but they will force you to think about things differently. Wait, am I talking about a game here or learning about diversity? I think both.

​But there is one caveat; one way in which Pokémon Go is very different from diversity: Pokémon Go isn't real. The discrimination and oppression that minorities deal with on a daily basis is very, very real. Yes, Black men get shot and killed. Yes, women get sexually assaulted while they are unconscious. Yes, LGBTQ young people are subject to bullying at an astonishingly high rate. That is not augmented reality. It's not virtual reality. Those are simply the facts.

Don't shy away from learning about diversity. It can be surprisingly fun and I highly encourage that you do it with your kids. And unlike video games, which come and go, diversity is here to stay. So embrace it all - the initial learning, the updates, the technical errors. In the end, the payoff is always worth it.


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