Quote:
Originally Posted by saoir
The trouble with GPS devices is this ... It's great for finding our way to places but people are not remembering how they got their. So they have to use the GPS for each subsequent trip and don't learn the geography of locations like they did when they had to learn it for themselves and navigate by signs, etc..
|
I agree this is a concern. With a GPS, you're often focused not on the big picture, but on relating the spoken instruction to the scene immediately in front of you. There's an element of passivity to the process that could lead one to become excessively dependent on the little robot.
OTOH, I don't think this is the only possible outcome. You can use software such as Tyre to plan an itinerary in advance (and write it to your GPS device). Planning is an active process, and later you do have the bigger picture in mind as you're driving with the GPS.
I, for one, have learned a lot of new geography since getting my GPS, both in my home town and in other places. I was just on vacation in an area that I visit maybe once a year and don't know very well. The GPS encouraged me to take side trips that I might not otherwise have bothered with because of the hassle of getting lost. Now, when I look at a map of the area, I can relate those side trips to the places I already know. I've learned something.
But you raise an interesting question. As someone on this board (maybe in this thread) put it: Do we own our gadgets, or do our gadgets own us? How are those gadgets changing the way we relate to the world? It's the old debate about calculators in the classroom, writ large. The problem is especially acute with kids, who become immersed in technology at the expense of "analog" (real-life) experience. I've been reading that students who text all the time are not developing age-appropriate social skills. This is very worrisome. I can see where some gadget-free survival training would do these young people good.
And it's not just kids, either. Did you see
"Technology Leads More Park Visitors Into Trouble" the other day in the NY Times? It's scary.