by Sam Rose

Created on: May 19, 2008   Last Updated: March 03, 2011

As a society, we are depending more and more on technology as time goes by. The arrival of websites such as MySpace and Facebook means that people are communicating more online than they ever have. I myself find that I rarely pick up the phone to speak to my friends as we can just as easily have a instant messaging conversation. Not only this, but the majority of shops have online stores, and some stores operate purely online, meaning people sometimes favour online shopping over real world shopping, due to the convenience it provides. This level of technology dependency shows no signs of slowing down, and is not limited to the world wide web.

GPS units can be updated to show changes in maps, and even warn us when speed cameras are close by. Paper maps, of course, cannot be updated in this way. They also show us where we are, rather than simply allowing us to find where we are like a map would. Not only this, but as we program our route into the GPS, we can concentrate on driving while it tells us where to go. Sometimes we feel more stressed when we drive because we don't know where we need to go sometimes maps are unclear or out of date, or we simply aren't very good at reading them.

A GPS unit allows us to concentrate solely on our driving, and this is particularly important as there is such an emphasis on safety these days. For example, it is now illegal in the UK to talk on a handheld phone while driving. It is not a very good idea to try to do something else while driving we are warned that concentrating on something else such as listening to the radio, or talking to a passenger could potentially be dangerous as we are not giving the road our full attention. GPS units also tell us vocally where to go. "At the roundabout, take the second exit." These voices can tell us where to go in different languages. When was the last time your map spoke to you? Of course, you could ask a passenger to read the map, but what if you're driving by yourself? In fact, to make this argument, I don't really need to point out all of the advantages a GPS has over a map, because as I stated before, the popularity of technology in every aspect of our lives is constantly increasing, and people are always looking for ideas and products to make every day tasks easier to carry out.

When people buy GPS units, they are buying peace of mind and convenience. There is no doubt in my mind that one day in the not too distant future, GPS units will replace road maps.

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