Introduction

Jay Janner/Austin American-Statesman, via Associated Press

Viral video games are usually maligned for gluing users to their couches for hours on end. But Pokémon Go, the sensational augmented reality app that overlays the real world with a digital game, has sent young people flooding into the streets and parks to catch Pokémon and explore the world around them.

Does the Pokémon Go phenomenon show that technology can bring people into the real world, or is it just tying them in a new way to the digital realm?