I’ve become so reliant on a GPS that using maps to direct myself feels like a foreign concept. Google Maps, Waze, whatever, if it’s outside of my neighbourhood, I’m punching in the address before I head out. Sometimes I notice the GPS taking slower routes or sending me the wrong way as I get out of a parking lot, but regardless, I just follow its directions, because I don’t have to think. Though I know, without this convenient tool, I’d be lost (literally).
If you recognize this problem, why not stop using a GPS? Navigating without a GPS is not difficult. You could regain this skill easily. What’s stopping you?
A while back, I was driving to a friend’s house every few months to hang out.
The first time, of course, I used a GPS to direct me there. Had this happened in the early 2000s, I would have printed out Google Maps turn-by-turn directions.
After a few times, I tried not using the GPS to direct me there, although I screwed up the final turns a bit and might have turned on the GPS to direct me around the twisty maze of curved streets and cul-de-sacs.
I wouldn’t have done that kind of thing if I had an appointment that I didn’t want to be late to.
Also, using a GPS insulates you a bit from surprise traffic/blockages that you might not know about beforehand — it can either just not direct you that way in the first place, or it can suggest an alternate route.
You could regain this skill easily. What’s stopping you?
To answer your question more directly:
In almost all cases, I don’t care enough about the random patch of land on the way to and around my destination to build up a mental map of it before setting out.
If you recognize this problem, why not stop using a GPS? Navigating without a GPS is not difficult. You could regain this skill easily. What’s stopping you?
A while back, I was driving to a friend’s house every few months to hang out.
The first time, of course, I used a GPS to direct me there. Had this happened in the early 2000s, I would have printed out Google Maps turn-by-turn directions.
After a few times, I tried not using the GPS to direct me there, although I screwed up the final turns a bit and might have turned on the GPS to direct me around the twisty maze of curved streets and cul-de-sacs.
I wouldn’t have done that kind of thing if I had an appointment that I didn’t want to be late to.
Also, using a GPS insulates you a bit from surprise traffic/blockages that you might not know about beforehand — it can either just not direct you that way in the first place, or it can suggest an alternate route.
To answer your question more directly:
In almost all cases, I don’t care enough about the random patch of land on the way to and around my destination to build up a mental map of it before setting out.