--- description: The new Pokémon Go mania isn't the first time that Pokémon has sparked fear over players' well-being, as shown by a 1999 TIME cover story title: Pokemon Go Bad for Kids? Parents Have Long Feared Pokémon image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt83dcafd06d137690/69889b64656a3fd22ebcc3a2/1101991122_400.jpg?branch=production&width=828&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [History](/section/history/) ## History Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Technology](/tag/technology/) ## Technology Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Parents Have Long Feared That Pokemon Is Bad for Kids  by [Lily Rothman](/author/lily-rothman/)  ## Lily Rothman Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Rothman is managing editor at TIME. Jul 11, 2016 3:15 PM CUT  The Nov. 22, 1999, cover of TIME The Nov. 22, 1999, cover of TIMETIME  by [Lily Rothman](/author/lily-rothman/)  ## Lily Rothman Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Rothman is managing editor at TIME. Jul 11, 2016 3:15 PM CUT As [_Pokémon Go_](http://time.com/4394673/pokemon-go-download-iphone-android-nintendo/ "undefined") fever sweeps the nation and the world, the inevitable concern backlash has begun: reports are in that players have been the [target of armed robberies](http://time.com/4400237/pokemon-go-armed-robbers-missouri/ "undefined"), and that at least one player has been led to an experience ([finding a dead body, for example](http://k/newsbeat/article/36757858/pokemon-go-player-finds-dead-body-in-wyoming-river-while-searching-for-a-pokestop "undefined")) that was far from the fun promised by the augmented-reality game. But this isn’t the first time that [Pokémon](http://time.com/4400815/pokemon-go-nintendo-niantic/ "undefined") has stirred worries over players’ health and well-being. In 1999, when the first Pokémon movie was released in the U.S., TIME featured the fad in a cover story. And, though the magazine took pains to explain the craze to curious readers unfamiliar with the charms of Charmander, the main note struck by the story was one of concern. The main fear sparked by Pokémon back then wasn’t that people would get hurt—even though, according to the story, a 9-year-old in New York had stabbed a schoolmate in a fight over trading cards. The real problem was that collecting Pokémon brought out a streak of avarice that was unappealing in children: --- > “” --- One psychologist [told](http://time.com/vault/issue/1999-11-22/page/96/ "undefined") TIME that Pokémon was relatively harmless, as long as children didn’t start to confuse the world of the game with the real world in which they lived the rest of their lives. Considering that criterion, it’s no wonder _Pokémon Go_ has brought Pokémon fears back to life. **_Read the rest of the story here, in the TIME Vault:_** [Beware of the Poké-mania](http://time.com/vault/issue/1999-11-22/spread/92/ "undefined") ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4401041/pokemon-1999-time-magazine-cover/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4401041/pokemon-1999-time-magazine-cover/"},"headline":"Parents Have Long Feared That Pokemon Is Bad for Kids","datePublished":"2016-07-11T15:15:37.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T08:50:13.733Z","description":"The new Pokémon Go mania isn't the first time that Pokémon has sparked fear over players' well-being","url":"https://time.com/4401041/pokemon-1999-time-magazine-cover/","keywords":["Technology","Tech","Games","movies","Bizarre"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt83dcafd06d137690/69889b64656a3fd22ebcc3a2/1101991122_400.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Lily Rothman","jobTitle":"Rothman is managing editor at TIME.","url":"https://time.com/author/lily-rothman/"}],"articleSection":"History","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt83dcafd06d137690/69889b64656a3fd22ebcc3a2/1101991122_400.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Nov. 22, 1999","caption":"Nov. 22, 1999","creditText":"TIME","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/history/","name":"History"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/technology/","name":"Technology"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4401041/pokemon-1999-time-magazine-cover/","name":"Parents Have Long Feared That Pokemon Is Bad for Kids"}}]}] ```