Over the years technology has changed. As we grow older and as technology revolutionizes, things we do are made simpler with the use of devices that fit right into the palm of our hands. Not too long ago you would’ve needed multiple devices to do the same things that a smartphone can do in a simple touch of an app. Or you would need to use your instincts and memory for certain things.
Are we becoming lazy?
Need to find you way to the nearest mall? Google and GPS it. Simple, right? What if we didn’t have that technology and had to figure out where the nearest mall was without the use of a handheld device? Would you find it? Most times the answer would be no. As technology makes life easier, it is erasing our ability to find things with knowledge and memory. The convenience of knowing that I’d simply have to just go to my “recent destination” on my phone to get directions to go somewhere would stop me from thinking that remembering how to get from point A to point B becomes irrelevant. Why use memory when we have access to information with one click or command to Siri?
One of the things about GPS and Google maps is that they give you directions and time estimates based on their own algorithms. Their programs don’t account for local differences in traffic patterns, construction, etc. Someone who lives in an area and drives there every day will know exactly what roads to take, often better than a GPS. Technology, in this case, is replacing local knowledge in a way that may actually detract from how efficiently we do tasks.
I definitely agree that our access to technology has reduced our drive to figure things out for ourselves and increased our reliance on media. However, with the particular example of finding directions, I disagree slightly. Although I do use Google Maps and apps on my phone to find out how to get somewhere the first, second, or maybe even the third time, I still have the ability to remember where I’m going and eventually learn the route myself. I use Google Maps more as a way to find an alternate route that takes me the fastest way from my starting point to my destination, and once I learn it, I end up experimenting with other roads that may make the route even faster (especially during rush hour traffic). I definitely don’t dismiss the fact that having directions on my phone makes me feel more confident in going places I’ve never been, but I don’t necessarily think that it erases our want to remember how to get places.