iHobo app puts a homeless man in your pocket

[Jack]

How did the yams miss this opportunity to slag us? Or did I miss it

iHobo is a ‘virtual pet’ app with a difference – your ‘pet’ is a homeless person.

While that may sound a little crass, it’s actually a tastefully presented app that might just change the way you think about the plight of the homeless.

iHobo [iTunes link] is a game that takes place in real time over three days. Presented with a realistic, animated homeless man you get the choice to give him a sleeping bag, food or money. Take your choice and that’s it… until you start getting push notifications on your screen updating you on the man’s status. Late at night I got told that he was cold and needed sleep. A quick tap of the sleeping bag icon sorted him out. Make the wrong choices and you could put the iHobo in danger of a drug overdose or death.

It’s a simple game but having the plight of the homeless person on my mind changed the way I thought the next time I walked past a beggar in the street. The game actually instilled a sense of guilt in me when, having ignored the ‘hobo’ for a few hours, I was told by the app “He has been offered drugs to block out the cold. If you were here he might not have accepted them”. There’s even a stats screen that shows the man’s wellbeing, body temperature and daily calorie intake, as well as how many alerts you’ve missed.

The free app was created (pro bono) by Publicis London to raise awareness of Depaul UK, a charity devoted to youth homelessness in the UK. The idea of the app is to get a young audience engaged in the issue. Depaul [http://www.depaulnightstopuk.org/] says that its current donors are largely aged 65+. Users who are sufficiently moved to can donate money to Depaul from within the app.

iHobo is essentially a “Tamagotchi with a social conscience”, and it’s well worth experiencing.

I want one! But I've not got an iPhone


Sorry I do know how they missed it – none them can afford a decent phone

[SRHibs]

I don't think I'll be guilted into giving some beggar who's nodding on Heroin any of my money.
Most of them have made their own beds, so they can deal with the consequences.

[CropleyWasGod]

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I don't think I'll be guilted into giving some beggar who's nodding on Heroin any of my money.
Most of them have made their own beds, so they can deal with the consequences.

Loving the irony of your post, alongside a pic of Mr. Doherty

[lyonhibs]

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Loving the irony of your post, alongside a pic of Mr. Doherty

That might indeed be THE definition of irony

An amazing lack of understanding about the most frequent root causes of homelessness by the poster you quoted though.

[SRHibs]

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That might indeed be THE definition of irony

An amazing lack of understanding about the most frequent root causes of homelessness by the poster you quoted though.

Enlighten me then.

From my vantage point, I see no effort from the beggars to improve their lives, instead they'll happily sit on princess street, smacked out their heads, their dogs with them to ensure they get some sympathy/guilt induced money.
I'm not saying they're all like that, but most are wasters.

How exactly is my avatar ironic? Pete Doherty might take heroin, but he's not exactly a homeless beggar, is he?

[CropleyWasGod]

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Enlighten me then.

From my vantage point, I see no effort from most of the homeless to improve their lives, instead they'll happily sit on princess street, smacked out their heads, their dogs with them to ensure they get some sympathy/guilt induced money.
I'm not saying they're all like that, but most are wasters.

How exactly is my avatar ironic? Pete Doherty might take heroin, but he's not exactly a homeless beggar, is he?

So is it their homelessness or their "nodding on heroin" that bothers you?

By the way, where is Princess Street?

[SRHibs]

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So is it their homelessness or their "nodding on heroin" that bothers you?

By the way, where is Princess Street?

Oh, wow, pick out a spelling error, how smart of you!

I think it's clearly obvious what bothers me. I couldn't care less if someone who has a 9-5 job had a Heroin habit. But the people who sit on the street and expect handouts from us so they can feed their habit(be it gambling, alcohol, coke, heroin) DO bother me.

Is that so wrong?

And I'm not generalising ALL homeless people. There's a big difference between a Hobo/beggar and a homeless person, isn't there?

[lyonhibs]

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Enlighten me then.

From my vantage point, I see no effort from the beggars to improve their lives, instead they'll happily sit on princess street, smacked out their heads, their dogs with them to ensure they get some sympathy/guilt induced money.
I'm not saying they're all like that, but most are wasters.

How exactly is my avatar ironic? Pete Doherty might take heroin, but he's not exactly a homeless beggar, is he?

Smacked out their heads are they?? I've obviously not spent as much time around smack heids as you, as I've not got a sharp eye for when someone is "smacked out their heads"

And you appear to confuse the way in which homelessness manifests itself (try getting a job/bank account without a fixed address, and try getting a fixed address in this housing market/with housing charities feeling the swinging axe of these cuts, amongst other factors. I'd be intrigued to see how you get on) and the root causes why they find themselves on the streets in the first place.

And I'd venture the vast majority of them are not "happy" to be sitting on Princes Street, though maybe this Princess Street () of which you speak is some sort of beggar wonderland??

[SRHibs]

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Smacked out their heads are they?? I've obviously not spent as much time around smack heids as you, as I've not got a sharp eye for when someone is "smacked out their heads"

And you appear to confuse the way in which homelessness manifests itself (try getting a job/bank account without a fixed address, and try getting a fixed address in this housing market/with housing charities feeling the swinging axe of these cuts, amongst other factors. I'd be intrigued to see how you get on) and the root causes why they find themselves on the streets in the first place.

And I'd venture the vast majority of them are not "happy" to be sitting on Princes Street, though maybe this Princess Street () of which you speak is some sort of beggar wonderland??

I really don't think it's especially hard to tell the difference between someone who is sober, and someone who is on smack(well, someone who is excessively drunk may come across as drugged, but it's six and half a dozen really, they're both bad habits).

Yeah, ok, I appreciate that it's hard to get back on your feet when you have nothing, but people do do it. Not something I'm proud to admit, but my Dad is constantly homeless due to his habits, although he always finds a way to get back on his feet. Maybe he's the exception to the rule, but from what I've witnessed, there are always hostels that are willing to take in homeless people, and give them a contact address. They don't have to resort to begging on the streets.

And yes, obviously I've got sympathy for the people who end up on the street due to misfortune/being made redundant etc, but for those who have made their own beds, they don't deserve to earn a penny from their begging.

Maybe I was a bit hasty to say that "most of them had made their own beds", didn't expect such a backlash.

And yes, I spelled "Princes Street" wrong, I get it...

[hibsboy90]

Just adding a wee snippet here. I always used to think that homeless folk had 'made their own beds' or whatever, and that it wouldnt be hard for them to get a job. But it is, most don't have access to hot water, showers, an address, 'work clothes'. Even when there are numerous job vacancies, getting a job is not easy.

[SRHibs]

I'm not saying it's easy, but they don't have to resort to begging/sleeping on the streets as a means of getting by. They can gain access to hot water, showers etc, by staying in a hostel.

I like your style lyonhibs: goad me into an argument then stop replying.