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Is your GPS making you stupid?  [OPINION]

Posted by: Lauren Carpenter
Published on: August 2nd, 2012 at 5:58 AM

Courtesy of dhtech.com

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The following was submitted by Charlie and Beth C. (Your voice can be heard here as well. Submit your own, we hope you do.)

Maybe it’s just us, but we think having a GPS in the car is making our kids all pretty lazy.

Gone are the maps we always kept in the car. Why bother? We may use them, but our kids wouldn’t even think about it. Instead they rely on Tom-Toms to get them places that a good map and some common sense used to.

Our kids need some basic old school skills. Where did we all go wrong? We’re not blaming the schools – this is all mom and dad-fed information that kids should have, but don’t. Our kids are not alone; our friends are lamenting about the same thing. One family said their high school junior left Clifton Park to go to Bethlehem Central for a game and ended up in Massachusetts confused by the GPS conflicting with verbal instructions from his dad. Another said her daughter couldn’t get from Clifton Park to Crossgates Mall without her GPS.

We had a few laughs, but it’s not really funny.

Kids are getting lazier and lazier and we’re allowing it to happen before our eyes.

Computers, video games, smart phones, tablets, laptops, desk tops, and the list goes on. Kids rely on electronics to make their decisions now on just about anything.

We, as parents, are blowing opportunities to teach our kids valuable lessons such as map reading. We never thought that skill would go out of style, but it has. We’re guilty of letting this happen, but we don’t know how to fix this problem.

Lest you think we’re just ranting on kids, we have plenty of friends who are just as bad – and they’re our age. We are turning into a lazy generation and our kids are taking cues from us.

Can anyone out there help us fix this problem?

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  • Anonymous

    Although I agree that some people rely heavily on electronics to function, I have tyo disagree with you on the GPS thing. Granted, some people are outwitted by the GPS and end up in MA but that’s not everyone. I happen to think that GPS stystems are a very effective tool to use on a trip. You say it’s a lazy way of getting around but if there’s something that makes traveling easier with less distractions and headaches, then why wouldn’t you use it? I’d rather not be the guy trying to read a map while driving, swerving all over the road. You’ve got to be smarter than the GPS sometimes, which is what I think you’re getting at for the most part. Occasionally the GPS will give you a wrong direction, usually because it hasn’t been updated and doesn’t recognize new roads. When I use my GPS, I check the directions in advance to make sure it’s on track and won’t bring me to the wrong state. Something a lot fo people should get in the habit of doing. As for the person relying on a GPS to get to crossgates from Clifton Park, she has bigger problems if she can’t figure that out in her head

  • Marty

    I’ve had my GPS bring me through back alleys in a new town I was in. GPS is a good thing, but I think it can be dangerous. Common sense is the key. But teenagers are relying on its reliability and that can be dangerous if they’re not htinking outside the little box, too. Can’t get to Crossgates – that’s bad. That kid’s just missing a gene, I think.

  • Anonymous

    Agreed. I use my GPS in Boston, where it’s not a grid system like NY is. Sometimes driving doesnt permit you to use a map, like city driving. You can’t just pull over and look at a map in the middle of Boston.

  • Paul

    I am directionally challenged- seriously, I am. If I didn’t have a GPS I would probably be lost in some random state every time I hit the road. Don’t hate on the GPS! Some of us are in desperate need of them!

  • Katert0t22

    well if it didnt cost $80 to update my GPS, we would not of gotten lost that one time!! :)

  • Anonymous

    not have*

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