iHobo App

Searching through the top free apps in the App Store last night (I'm still a student - the only app I have willingly paid for is a Glee one) I came across the iHobo app, of which I downloaded. Initially finding the name of the app comical, I thought the app's contents would be the same....

iHobo is a game that takes place in real-time over 3 days. You are given a homeless man to live on your phone for 72 hours. In that time you have to be there to provide him with every need, whether it be food, money or a sleeping bag. If you're not there for him then he can turn to drugs, or even die. Annoyingly, I didn't request push notifications on this, so when my homeless man wanted something I wasn't there for him. Basically, when I checked up on him by the morning he had been mugged for his sleeping bag, didn't have any money for a hostel and had taken drugs to stop the cold. Clearly I'm not cut out for this malarkey.

The app was created by Publicis London to raise awareness of Depaul UK, a charity devoted to youth homelessness, with the aim of trying to get more young people involved in the issue. I found it to be effective in the way that it instills a sense of guilt in you when you come back to find out what's been happening with your hobo after leaving him for the night - putting the issue into an almost entertaining setting helps the user to understand what can happen when homeless, and hopefully will encourage others to think twice when they pass a real homeless person on the street.