[Source: http://www.koreaherald.com/view.php?ud=20160719000655]
We are all afraid of what others think of us. Often, people suppress their own individuality to follow what everyone else is doing. This summer, I had a great fortune of taking 2 weeklong social psychology class at Brown University. The first thing that I learned is the Herd Mentality Effect. Herd Mentality is what makes us act like a school of herring under the ocean. People’s infatuation with Pokémon Go is a perfect example. Pokémon Go is one of the most successful games ever. Why? To some, it just triggers a touch of nostalgia, e.g. the 80s and 90s generations crowd. However, many preteens are swept off their feet by it too. Now, why is that?
[Source: http://www.koreaherald.com/view.php?ud=20120803000467]
Remember Gangnam Style? Everyone used to dance the famous ‘horse dance’ across the world. When it came out, within a couple months, it reached more than a billion views on YouTube. Now, though, the ‘Horse Dance’ is fading into our memories. Pokémon Go is the 2016 version of Gangnam Style. This artificial reality game has been downloaded more than 15 million times, and you would hardly see anyone who does not play this game. Jackson Lyon, a Pokémon ‘trainer’, put it so eloquently, “I had no idea about this game until my friends started playing it. As I started playing Pokémon Go with my friends, it became so addictive that I could not let phone off from me except for bedtime.”
However, why are people so excited about this phone game and how long would it last? Jackson would surely say yes because it is so much fun. Yes, but not necessarily if you asked Angelo Dibello, a renowned social psychology professor at Brown University. According to Dr. Dibello, we all fear expressing contending opinions against those of the majority. People suppress their own individuality to follow what everyone else is doing. Psychologists say that this social phenomenon, called Herd Mentality Effect, probably explains the wild popularity of Pokémon Go.
Would Jackson buy this explanation? When I told him that he was just a sheep in a herd of sheep, the first thing he did was to get mad. He argued that if I compare him to a blind sheep, I am calling every Pokémon Go player automaton. Jackson may have a point there. But, maybe he is acknowledging at least there is such a thing as Pokémon Go herd. Jackson opined that some of the players, around middle twenties or thirties, are likely to feel a touch of collective nostalgia. The 80s and 90s generations were raised watching Pokémon animations and playing Pokémon trading cards. For them, the revival of their favorite animation characters in Pokémon Go takes them back to their adolescence. Jackson’s rationale is somewhat convincing. However, nostalgia alone cannot explain the dominant number of teenage players.
[Dr. Dibello and our Social Psychology class]
In response to Jackson's comment, Dr. Dibello would suggest that many of the Pokémon Go players would not find the game so interesting as others would. While many who play Pokémon Go would say that they play the game because it is fun, there is a high possibility that many are subconsciously motivated to play it just because their peers are doing it. Such subconscious, perhaps subliminal, tendencies in humans is a powerful driving force according to the psychologists. This force, when erupted, often changed the course of history. This subliminal force may very well be behind the Pokémon Go phenomenon. After all, it is understandable in that youngsters do not want to be an anomaly in the sea of Pokémon Go craze.
Pokémon Go is indeed one of the most successful games in history. However, its unique game style alone cannot explain its widespread popularity. Although some find nostalgia in this game and others find it so fun, psychologists suggest that many players are blindly following the fad just because others are doing so. The Herd Mentality Effect may be the best explanation as to why Pokémon Go is so popular across the world.
Youngjae (Aaron) Kim
Grade: 12th
Pomfret School