>>54139984Major boomer take incoming:
Writers and developers should reconsider the Pokémon world's relationship to social media. Social media as we know it, though not without its redeeming qualities, is still a toxic cesspit making people sadder, angrier, more isolated, and more vain, yet also more insecure.
Growing up with gens 1-4, the Pokémon world instilled in me an appreciation and curiosity for nature and travel, It was the ultimate escapist fantasy for a child. There have always been sci-fi elements, but they existed to make travel and exploration more convenient and practical.
Not only do gens 6-9 feel like guided tours focusing more on cities rather than nature, we have literally reached the point where there's an abundance of NPCs taking selfies and blathering on about their social media followers. We're even encouraged to join in and take selfies ourselves. It's jarring seeing this fantastical utopia with such an appreciation and dedication to the natural world start to be filled with these schmucks addicted to gaining Instagram clout.
The games don't encourage us to really think critically about this sort've behavior, and this makes sense, since I'm sure Game Freak is merely attempting to mimic what's contemporary. Even so, it comes off as a celebration of that toxic culture. Imagine if Hoenn had a bunch of influencers with selfie sticks in all the wilderness routes; it would completely destroy the atmosphere of adventure. The Pokémon world should divert more of its focus back to nature and less on virtual tourism of popular sight-seeing destinations.
tl;dr phones bad, make kids touch grass
