My sense of direction is weak at best. Okay, being really honest, I got lost in my bathroom during a power outage. I need all the help I can get when driving somewhere I have never been before. So for my birthday last year my parents got me a Global Positioning System or a GPS. It has been a lifesaver, the only way I managed to get a friend to the hospital or my sister all over creation to visit or drop off her friends. But GPS devices are eliminating basic map reading skills and disengaging people in a way that is dangerous both mentally and physically.
 
It’s true that GPS devices use a wide variety of regularly updated maps. However the function of just following the little arrow or picture of a car removes any really reading from the situation. The technology determines the shortest route or the one that avoids highways or can even choose a route with less traffic. Most devices also work for walking or biking. All you have to do is plug in a street address. Most GPS devices actually talk to you, calling out distances until you “Turn left!” There is no analyzing the route or even the moves the GPS takes you. Users become completely disengaged, zombies moving without thinking about the place or the time.

Continue reading “Map Reading vs. Map Following Part 2”