Pokémon Go : understanding community and social interaction in a digital world

Abstract

Pokémon Go is an augmented realty video game, where users or trainers attempt to catch digital monsters in a hybrid world. This application will be the tool that is used to analyze community building and social space within urban environments in two distinct Canadian cities. This research project uses participant observation of users in action and a cross-sectional data analysis of the Pokémon Go community to find out if Pokémon Go shapes the way we build community, and is there a new form of social interaction happening within the digital landscape that has become present in this new era.