Members of the Facebook page Pokemon Go: Salford, which is for a mobile gaming app, say that it has helped them meet new people and stay connected with the community, especially during lockdown.

Players use their mobile phones to hunt for virtual creatures around Salford, that can only be seen through smartphones

Member Katherine Coupland, 27, says that she loves being part of a community, and the page has boosted her social life:

“I consider myself late on the trend but there’s always someone is Salford who is willing to help me find those basic Pokemon.

“With the pandemic happening, I needed something to distract me and get me out a bit more.”

Pokemon Go: Salford. Facebook Page screenshot

She explained that the group is neither male nor female-oriented.

“I’ve made mates of all genders.”

Michelle Mott created the Facebook group ‘Pokemon Go: Salford’ in November 2016, which now has almost 900 members.

She said: “We started the group as a family, so we could all go Pokehunting together. Other people started asking to join, and before we knew it we had over a hundred members.

“Then it just grew and grew.”

Michelle expressed that it is nice to see people making friends from the page.

Conor McCorkindale, 27, has a YouTube Channel called RedPanda WGAP, where he and his friends vlog their experiences of Pokemon Go hunting in Salford.

Conor McCorkindale’s Pokemon Vlog in Salford-screenshot. Credit: RedPanda WGAP

He said: “We meet all sorts of funny people who genuinely want to help out in the game. Me and my friends play Pokemon Go’s community day where there’s competitions of who can catch the most shiny Pokemon so we see a lot of people during those.”

“I get that Pokemon has a stigma as it’s made for kids but I actually feel like its made for us adults too as it gives us a sense of freedom. We can go anywhere to catch Pokemon and end up finding some really cool spots in Salford.”

Conor at Cromwell Garden, Salford. Credit: RedPanda WGAP YouTube.

Despite peaking in popularity in the Summer of 2016, many Salford players are continuing the craze and gaining friends in the process.

Listen to reporter, Jessie Sale, go Pokehunting in the Weaste area, with keen Pokemon Go player, Josh Murcott. Josh said: “I don’t know what I’d do without it”:

Members agree that since joining the group, it has been an excitable and sociable experience.

Conor said: “People thought that the game ended in 2016.

“But we’ve proven them wrong.”

Join the page here: (4) Pokemon GO: Salford | Facebook

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