[wahern]

Relatedly, people who rely too much on GPS for navigation (i.e. online automated route planning), especially real-time, turn-by-turn instruction, seem to have poor spatial awareness, at least at the local geographic level. I doubt the loss of that skill is a meaningful impediment in modern life[1], but I personally would not want to lose it. Tools like Google Maps are extremely useful, but I use them to augment my own navigation and driving skills. I'll briefly study the route before departing, choose major thoroughfares to minimize complexity, and try to memorize the last few turns (signage and a practiced understanding of how highways and roads are laid out is sufficient for getting close enough).

[1] No impediment for them. It's an impediment for me when the car in front of me is clearly being driven by somebody blithely following the computer's instructions, with little if any anticipation of successive turns, and so driving slowly and even erratically.

[aaronbaugher]

Yes. You can see a difference between the person who learned to do a process "by hand" and then uses technology to make it faster or easier, versus the person who never learned to do it without the tech at all.