Expression of Care

It came to my attention recently that a social experiment had been carried out. I wasn't a witness to and didn't participate in the actual experiment, but the experiment as well as the results of that experiment appear to be well-documented. As gravitated to Pokémon as I am, I couldn't help but consider this social experiment in light of Pokémon and what it could possibly mean if it were really linked to it.

The experiment involved an advertising billboard that was put up with one detail that is noticeably incorrect. Predictably, in this day and age of social media, a flood of reactions resulted among their users, and beyond social media, the incorrect detail was reported in a few places as well. Eventually, another advertisement acknowledged the incorrect detail and said that it was a social experiment - which is also how I knew about this. Certainly, the advertisement also rectified the incorrect detail.

The results of the social experiment seem to lead to the conclusion that by reacting to the incorrect advertisement, people show that they care. If people no longer cared, they would probably not have reacted to the advertisement and set many people abuzz through the various forms of social media present today. More than that, they show that the care is innate for those who feel deep senses of connection to the incorrect advertisement. I find this fascinating, which then led me to think about it with Pokémon.

In regard to Pokémon, I would react too if something related to it appeared as detrimentally incorrect as this one. Likewise, it would mean that I do indeed care and won't let a slip-up go by. I probably wouldn't go all out on social media to express the incorrectness, but since I have this blog, at least I can rationally discuss it on this blog, and other people could comment on it here as well. That would be analogous to the "other-place reporting" that took place above. The hope is of course that the mistake would be rectified as above.

Granted, Pokémon is a major thing and it would be hard for something like the above to occur, let alone as an experiment; it's more likely that something goes wrong unintentionally and then quickly fixed, most likely with an apology. Still, I would likely address it, as with anything else Pokémon, because of my attraction to it. In that way, I would show that I care. A social experiment is hardly needed in this case - or rather, my case personally.

One year ago: Three-Line Episode Summaries