For most people – the Global Positioning System (GPS) unit has become part of our day-to-day technological fix, giving directions to the nearest restaurant, gas station or hotel.

Like the spell-checker, which we rely on for editing, there is a belief that the navigation device could be compromising our sense of direction. We use Internet-based maps and route finders, like MapQuest and Google Maps, to guide ourselves to new destinations. These online options bring travelers instantly calculated directions, without having to scrutinize colorful representations of roads on paper maps.

But now, as PDA’s, including the new generation of phones, are becoming GPS-enabled, the prices are dropping.  This new affordability may increase our addiction to GPS, as a way to get “here and there”. When we develop a crutch for technology, we lose the ability to do that which we did previously.  Within basic navigation, that’s the relationship between the map, the compass and the GPS unit related to time, distance, direction and the exact location.   People become more and more reliant, and their expectations get bigger and bigger. And if technology doesn't deliver, we get frustrated.

This dependence can already be seen in the use of GPS in cars, which has become more prevalent on every television commercial.  "I think GPS is going to continue to be embedded in more and more digital devices, including kinds that we haven't even imagined yet," Nipissing University professor Ken Waller said. "We could see GPS units in our watches, in credit cards, or for any human activity that relies on knowing where you are or planning where you are going.” He surmises that getting “turned around” or lost helps develop our sense of place, and contributes to a functioning society. 

Think about how many times in the last month or so you have asked somebody for directions, or somebody has asked you for directions.

Soon, people may not need to have any sense of direction whatsoever. The GPS on the new phones allows a person to search for a type of place, such as an Asian restaurant, eliminating search time for places people don't yet know exist, but also ending that human impulse to explore.  The technology may just be the beginning of a new, previously unthinkable form of localization by default to the technology.

Of course, use of GPS isn't all negative. One potential -- and perhaps obvious --beneficial change will be cutting down on travel time.  People will not spend long hours walking around looking for a hidden street if their cell phones can show them the way. Travellers will most likely feel more confident in new locations. Parents may give their children more freedom to walk by themselves at younger ages; their phones will take them home, and those afflicted with Alzheimer’s will be found.

Professor Waller views the negative effects of widely-used GPS as intertwined with the potential for humans to expand their understanding of space. "One effect of an increased dependence on GPS will be that peoples' ability to read maps will further decay," Waller said. "People are generally poor map readers. Some cannot read maps at all because it's not part of our education.” In Ontario, for example, high school students are required to take one geography credit for their secondary school diploma.

Will a better geographic imagination and awareness be fostered by the technology? Will people see the connections between places more clearly? Back in the classroom we all learned about degrees and minutes utilized by latitude and longitude, but the teachers didn’t tell us what a degree, or minute, meant in linear distance. The GPS will increase our awareness of accuracy, but will we really know where are? Or where we are going?