Hey, ‘Pokemon Go’ zombies, put down your phones and experience reality

To the editor: With the “Pokemon Go” frenzy, the world is now Fantasyland. (“‘Pokemon Go’: Craze sweeps the nation and is poised to surpass Twitter,” July 11)

Instead of wandering the landscape for hours as smartphone zombies, they could be reading about and discussing real-world failures such as the $40-billion missile defense program exposed by The Times or the shocking $1-trillion total program cost for the F-35 fighter jet.

In the year of an important presidential election, Americans should be focused on the issues. The consequences of fantasy distraction are perhaps best described by author Neil Postman:

“When a population becomes distracted by trivia, when cultural life is redefined as a perpetual round of entertainments, when serious public conversation becomes a form of baby talk, when, in short, a people become an audience and their public business a vaudeville act, then a nation finds itself at risk; culture-death is a clear possibility.”

Bob Ladendorf, Los Angeles

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To the editor: As I was walking around the park being an old man who is disgusted by all the texting, here’s what I spectated upon:

A boy and a girl walking together, texting and not talking to one another; a young girl walking a dog almost bumping into me while texting and not looking up; a father and son walking together, both texting, not talking to each other; and two girls crossing the street and not looking because they were texting.

At least I thought they were texting.

I was told that they were actually playing Pokemon Go. This put a wrinkle in my penchant for being an old man who is disgusted by all the texting.

How can I look down on young people out walking around town looking for imaginary Pokemon creatures such as an Omanyte or a Snorlax? They are out of the house, away from the computer, and using their legs. Seems like a positive activity — unless they run into a bus instead of a Snorlax.

Am I fit for this brave new world?

Milton B. Rouse, Dana Point

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