Driving somewhere with GPS definitely seems to engage the brain in a different way than driving there without GPS. If I’m driving somewhere once and don’t expect to drive there again, I’ll use GPS every time, but if I’m driving to a familiar area or trying make an area more familiar, I’ll try to go without it when I can.
As a cab driver this comes up most often with regular customers. I’ll drive them home with GPS a few times, but once I notice that I’m going to the same destination regularly I’ll try to get there without it. One or two goes of getting directed there by a person instead of by my phone and I can usually drive straight back.
If I keep using GPS I could drive there dozens of times and still not immediately recall where it is.
Driving somewhere with GPS definitely seems to engage the brain in a different way than driving there without GPS. If I’m driving somewhere once and don’t expect to drive there again, I’ll use GPS every time, but if I’m driving to a familiar area or trying make an area more familiar, I’ll try to go without it when I can.
As a cab driver this comes up most often with regular customers. I’ll drive them home with GPS a few times, but once I notice that I’m going to the same destination regularly I’ll try to get there without it. One or two goes of getting directed there by a person instead of by my phone and I can usually drive straight back.
If I keep using GPS I could drive there dozens of times and still not immediately recall where it is.