Neighbor kid asked me why I still use a paper map last Sunday

I was sitting on my porch folding a road map for a trip upstate and the 10 year old next door asked if I was somehow lost. He said his dad just yells at their phone for directions. I tried to explain how you see the whole route at once instead of just the next turn. But honestly I started thinking maybe I'm the weird one for keeping maps in the glove box. Has anybody else had a younger person point out something you do that suddenly feels outdated?

3 comments

3 Comments

lee_reed1mo ago

Oh man that hits close to home. I had a similar thing happen at a gas station last summer where a kid asked if I was reading a treasure map while I was looking at a paper atlas. They looked at me like I was handling some kind of ancient relic. But seriously did the kid understand when you showed him how you could see all the back roads and alternate routes at once? I feel like THATS the part that gets lost with phone directions. You miss the whole picture. Its not just about getting from A to B anymore. How long did it take you to explain the concept of actually knowing WHERE you are instead of just following a voice? Because I swear younger people have no idea what its like to navigate by landmarks and paper.

the_thea1mo ago

That part about "knowing where you are instead of just following a voice" really hit me, @lee_reed. I had the exact same thought when that kid asked about my map - it's like people don't learn their surroundings anymore, they just learn the next command. Makes me wonder if future generations will even know what city they're in without a phone to tell them.

daniel_martin1mo ago

Paper maps get outdated the second they're printed and you can't search for anything on them. Plus folding the thing back up is a nightmare, I always end up with creases in the wrong spots and the page I need facing the floorboard. Your kid's dad probably spends an extra 30 seconds yelling at his phone and still gets there faster than you ever will with your hands off the wheel.

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