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Has Google Maps ruined the art of the road trip?
I may not be old enough to remember the completion of the US Interstate system (1980), but I'm at least old enough to remember what a paper map looks like.
I've felt the frustration of trying to solve the Rubik's Cube of its original folds, and have engaged in the heated front seat argument that inevitably occurs when you realize the black line that crosses the Interstate doesn't necessarily mean it actually connects with the Interstate.
On my recent 3,600 mile "10 days, 10 states, 10 great American sights" road trip, however, I never got lost once. No wrong turns, no hopelessly unfolded maps, just a bouncing blue ball embedded in the GPS of my smartphone on a little application commonly known as Google Maps.
This, many would argue, is a good thing. You get places faster, there are no front seat arguments, and the unfathomably smart little device will lead you directly to the gates of your hotel, National Park, or even the nearest coffee shop. From this perspective, Google Maps is the best thing to ever happen to the road trip.
If it's even possible to be 27 years old and referred to as "old-school", however, I have to say that I respectfully disagree. In my humble, perennially making U-turns opinion, Google Maps has actually ruined the art of the road trip, and I feel compelled to tell you why.
In a thoughtful effort to get you to your destination as quickly as possible, the shiny purple line overlaid on the Google Map points you from A to B on what it calculates to be the fastest route. More times than not, this leads you directly to the nearest Interstate.
As the late Charles Kuralt once stated in his long-running CBS series, On The Road, "Thanks to the Interstate Highway System, it is now possible to travel across the country from coast to coast without seeing anything. From the Interstate, America is all steel guardrails and plastic signs, and every place looks and feels and sounds and smells like every other place."
Part of the joy of the road trip--the true American road trip such as Gadling blogger Paul Brady discovered in his Traveling the American Road series--is not in getting from here to there in the speediest possible fashion, but rather in meandering amongst the back roads that connect village with village and neighbor with neighbor. Though 21% of America's traffic travels along the Interstate system, it still only comprises 1% of America's road network. The other 99% is where you will find the true American spirit and scenery, yet the purple line on my smartphone is telling me to pass it by.
Furthermore, getting lost is an intrinsic element of the road trip that Google Maps has eliminated. There is something to be said about not knowing what lies around the next bend, or in happening upon a township, a restaurant, or a scenic viewpoint that you had no plans of originally visiting. Maybe a person you speak with when you stop to ask for directions turns you
on to a landmark or a festival that ends up being the best part of your trip. With the bouncing blue ball of precision, however, there are no longer any amicable strangers; there will be no festivals.
In a weird way, getting lost is supposed to happen. In our ever-morphing personal scripts and story lines, it is the unexpected encounters and unforeseen turns of event that add the toppings to the vanilla of our lives. As the ancient Greek philosopher Hericlitus once mused, "If you do not expect the unexpected you will not find it, for it is not to be reached by search or trail." Or, for that matter, by GPS.
Lastly, when you're eyes are constantly on the bouncing blue ball on your smartphone screen in anticipation of the next turn, you're not even seeing what you originally set out to see, which of course are the communities which are suddenly passing you by. Here is a sample conversation of a Google navigator with eyes firmly glued to a smartphone:
"Ok, turn left in .2 miles...it's going to fork to the right...you should be passing the Home Depot riiiiiiiiiiiight....now."
"That was a nice town wasn't it?"
"I don't know. What did it look like?"
Though I am as guilty as the rest for relying on Google to get me where I need to go, I hope that we as travelers aren't sacrificing the wind-in-your-hair freedom of adventure for a calculated algorithm of geographic efficiency. Robert Frost just doesn't ring as true had he quipped "Two roads diverged in a wood, and I-- I took the one Google told me to!"
While many may not agree, I am fearful that as technology revolutionizes the travel industry, the greatest casualty will be those roads not taken.
Furthermore, getting lost is an intrinsic element of the road trip that Google Maps has eliminated. There is something to be said about not knowing what lies around the next bend, or in happening upon a township, a restaurant, or a scenic viewpoint that you had no plans of originally visiting. Maybe a person you speak with when you stop to ask for directions turns you
on to a landmark or a festival that ends up being the best part of your trip. With the bouncing blue ball of precision, however, there are no longer any amicable strangers; there will be no festivals.In a weird way, getting lost is supposed to happen. In our ever-morphing personal scripts and story lines, it is the unexpected encounters and unforeseen turns of event that add the toppings to the vanilla of our lives. As the ancient Greek philosopher Hericlitus once mused, "If you do not expect the unexpected you will not find it, for it is not to be reached by search or trail." Or, for that matter, by GPS.
Lastly, when you're eyes are constantly on the bouncing blue ball on your smartphone screen in anticipation of the next turn, you're not even seeing what you originally set out to see, which of course are the communities which are suddenly passing you by. Here is a sample conversation of a Google navigator with eyes firmly glued to a smartphone:
"Ok, turn left in .2 miles...it's going to fork to the right...you should be passing the Home Depot riiiiiiiiiiiight....now."
"That was a nice town wasn't it?"
"I don't know. What did it look like?"
Though I am as guilty as the rest for relying on Google to get me where I need to go, I hope that we as travelers aren't sacrificing the wind-in-your-hair freedom of adventure for a calculated algorithm of geographic efficiency. Robert Frost just doesn't ring as true had he quipped "Two roads diverged in a wood, and I-- I took the one Google told me to!"
While many may not agree, I am fearful that as technology revolutionizes the travel industry, the greatest casualty will be those roads not taken.
Filed under: Stories, North America, United States, Transportation
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Traci Dec 12th 2011 11:10AM
We try to merge old school with technology. We plan ahead to stop at roadside attractions along the back roads, but let our GPS get us there!.
Jake Aufderheide Dec 12th 2011 11:15AM
Great post! I totally agree the GPS takes all of the adventure out of the trip. Although there is usually an option to 'avoid highways/interstates', so you could take a more scenic route. I did that once on a drive I had taken countless times from point A to point B. Added a sense of adventure to a typically boring drive, though it took about an hour longer.
Perhaps it would be the most fun to not use a map at all! How about just a compass and your intuition?
Tri Dec 12th 2011 12:13PM
Technology hasn't ruined anything. You can still travel with a paper map and a compass if you want. Nobody is forcing you to use Google Maps with GPS.
Gabrielle Dec 12th 2011 1:58PM
Kyle, you amaze me! Island born and bred and raised in the age of technology, but you have nailed it--the best route is the one that finds awe in the beauty of the trip. When I was growing up our family did all of the West Coast in multiple two-week trailer vacations. I learned that the back roads are a mystical land of adventure. All too true that most of us don't have time to venture there anymore, in our fast-paced world. Keep us on the path, Kyle!
Neelima Dec 13th 2011 7:00AM
Totally true, I see so many people touring around with their faces buried in smart phones to take decisions. I like the traditional way of getting lost, getting frustrated, getting lots of advice from locals and then arriving!
Emily Dec 13th 2011 5:52PM
I completely agree! I took a road trip myself this fall to visit a friend. About to leave for my way home, she offered me her GPS, as I would be taking a different route home. And then rescinded the offer because she needed it to get around the town she lives in! I made do with a four-year-old Rand McNally atlas and a quick call to a friend when I couldn't find an exit. Long live paper maps!
cambeul41 Apr 1st 2012 2:26PM
Once, while motorcycling in western North Carolina, I managed to get moderately confused twice.
First, I stopped to ask directions at a diner when I realized that I had inadvertently entered Tennessee. The waitress I spoke to asked, "Is that your bike?" It was. "You are lost and you don't care, do you?" I was and I didn't.
Later that day I became bewildered again. A mountain storekeeper gave me directions. His wife tried to correct him. He responded, "Yes, dear, but he has already been over the roads you are suggesting -- so I gave him a new route."
OMG! Two people in a row that understood!
On the other-hand, the first time I saw GPS in action was in Tokyo visiting in-laws. I would really want it there.
TK Dec 16th 2011 6:02PM
Great post! I love the quotes and especially like the ending. Brings back memories of Baja.
al roche Dec 17th 2011 6:30PM
knocking down 45000 to 75000 miles as an antique dealer the interstate highways save a lot of time however the roads less traveled by are the places the treasures I sell are found. gps systems are ok but a paper map with notations on it are golden. Long live paper maps and the people that can read them in the dark in the rain ona mountain road going the wrong way.
Jesse Weinberg Dec 20th 2011 1:06PM
Great article Kyle. I love the ease and connivence of the smartphone/gps, but do often feel a slave to it.
It isn't till traveling deep abroad with no cell phone coverage that I truly feel that freedom of traveling, getting lost, and getting surprised by what is around the corner.
Great post, thanks for bringing this up.
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anorwen Dec 21st 2011 2:20PM
Totally agree with the sentiment. I am actually one of those people who still uses a papert map whenever possible, especially during a road trip. There is no better way to find the real hidden gems of a trip than turning off that "fastest" GPS route.
Michael Milne Jan 3rd 2012 8:09AM
Hi Kyle,
Great piece of writing. I drove from Philly to Idaho and back last year, all on back roads. No GPS, no Google maps, just a Rand-McNally atlas. I got lost plenty of times and I had a blast. Sometimes technology is not progress.
You;'e lucky to discover that.
Cheers!
Michael Milne
www.ChangesInLongitude.com