Do You Rely Too Much On GPS? Here's Why It Could Be Destroying Your Navigation Skills

Imagine going on a road trip where you need to reach your destination before dawn, but the problem is you do not know which way to take. All you have is the address of your destination, but there is no guidance on what path to go on. If you have ever been in a similar situation like this, then you can relate to the stress and anxiety that gradually rise within you until you can’t take the frustration anymore.

This is where GSP (Global Positioning System) acts as a God-send help that allows you to navigate easily to your destination, all at your fingertips via smartphone and internet connection. However, a recent study, based on meta-analysis on the effects of GPS on navigational abilities, published in the Journal of Environmental Psychology, found that people who use GPS are more likely to have poor environmental knowledge and a bad sense of direction.

Global Positioning System uses satellite navigation to access time data and location anywhere on earth. GPS uses 24 satellites that orbit around the earth as a network, and through transmitting signals to GPS receivers on the ground, mathematical precision is made to detect the exact signals by triangulating signals from several satellites orbiting around the earth. The initial release of GPS was first used for military purposes. However, due to its growing popularity and practicality, it is now used in vast varsities of applications for navigation and mapping.

Neurologically speaking, any mental capability that isn’t trained or re-used over a period of time diminishes in functionality. Similarly, GPS use among humans for a prolonged period can reduce their navigational skills. Research has shown that people who regularly use GPS can reduce their capacity to learn landmarks and spatial environmental clues. Furthermore, relying too much on GPS can also cause the natural innate ability to find their way without technological guidance.

Laura Miola and her colleagues, who published the study, set a meta-analysis between GPS and three focal study points: a sense of direction, wayfinding performance, and environmental knowledge.

The study participants were above 16 and divided into two groups; one group used GPS, and the other didn’t use GPS as they relied more on traditional navigation methods, such as maps and asking people for directions. The focus of the study was to measure the results of wayfinding, environmental knowledge, and self-reported navigational abilities.

To match the study results, 23 studies were identified that met the academic criteria and had a participant range from 13 to 636 people between the ages of 16 to 84 years old. The data collected in these studies were mainly from a single-time point; however, one study measured the results as a follow-up after 3 months, while another study did a follow-up on the participants over three years.

The results gathered from all of these studies showed a unanimous result that using GPS frequently can diminish environmental knowledge and a sense of direction. However, the researchers could not build a strong connection between the use of GPS and the decline in wayfinding performance. Additionally, it was also found that people who already have a hard time forming mental maps and struggle with spatial learning often use GPS, which further hinders their improvement in these areas.

Image: DIW-Aigen

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