Pokemon Go is helping people work through their social anxiety and depression.

It’s a common line spouted towards the smartphone generation of teens and 20-somethings: close down the laptops, shut off Netflix and talk a walk around the block.

With Pokemon Go, that’s exactly what young people are doing. The craze is seeing people voluntarily walking around and exploring every nook and cranny of their neighbourhood, often for hours at a time, as part of the augmented reality smartphone game they no doubt only dreamt of in the ‘90s days of black and white Gameboys.

Now, another unexpected refreshing effect is emerging in online stories: it’s helping people to get over their social anxiety and become more active.

The game is designed to be played by lots of people in the same area simultaneously. By chasing and catching the same monsters, users are drawn to specific locations, and you can see little enclaves forming as people meet and connect over their common ground.

A number of users have shared heartwarming stories of how the game has helped them and people they know to overcome their fears.

David, 22, from Dordrecht in the Netherlands, uploaded a video of about a dozen new people surrounding him, with the caption: “F*ck yeah All strangers”.

He went on to explain he’d always been the type who would normally just stay inside for days and just stare at his computer screen, without exercising. But the game fast became addictive, and he decided to play it properly by going outside.

In just three days, he had walked almost 50km. He quickly found it was easier for him to walk without much pain, and it eventually became an effortless task.

“In these three days, I’ve met over 25 complete strangers that wanted to meet up and just talk and play together,” he explained. “This was actually one of the better experiences in my life. There was no feeling of anxiety, everyone was so friendly. I keep meeting more and more people on the way and have small talks with them.

“The game has made me go outside again, overcome my anxiety and live a little better. I plan to keep this up and feel comfortable with my body again.”

Pokemon Go is encouraging people to come together in real life and overcome their anxiety.Source:AFP

We already know that exercise can help with depression, but the motivation to do so in the first place can be difficult for many sufferers. For this reason, Pokemon Go is genius — it encourages people to exercise, and they may not even realise they’re doing it. Sure, their eyes may be glued to their smartphones the whole time, but it’s still physical activity.

Twitter user Brett DuVale said his little sister has “severe social anxiety and depression”. He wrote that she never wants to leave the house, kept to her room and only has online friends, where she can play games with them without actually having to communicate in person.

“Pokemon Go has changed all of that almost overnight,” he said. “Now she’s constantly running around town, begging to go out every day and catch Pokemon.

“She’s actually excited to meet people in person now, and it’s all because she might get to catch a Pikachu. It’s kind of incredible to see.”

If you’re going to be on your smartphone anyway, you may as well do it in a group.Source:AFP

Another player, 31-year-old Sophia, told Buzzfeed News the game has been great for her anxiety.

“I started playing Pokémon Go because I needed help to distract myself,” she said.

“I’m very introverted. It’s mostly due to my facial deformity. I very rarely strike up a conversation with someone out of fear that they might not want to talk to me. But with Pokémon Go I feel OK. I can actually talk to people and not be afraid of rejection. And having the chance to talk to someone is exactly what I need right now.”

She said she’s leaving the house a lot more, and was surprised to find there were so many other people in her small rural town who shared her interest in the game.

New figures, published by SimilarWeb, have found the app is even more popular than Tinder on US Android phones, with around 60 per cent of those who downloaded it using it daily.

Oh, and speaking of Tinder, it’s evidently encouraging new romances, which is all kinds of adorable.