MapQuest seems to do it all. Not only does it direct more than 23 million people to where they need to go each day, according to the site’s data, it also provides maps that cover everywhere from the United States and Canada to most of Western Europe. Within seconds, drivers can get full maps and detailed travel directions down to the exact mile.
And the site doesn’t do it alone. Twenty to 30 sources supply data for the site, including cartography companies, government databanks and in-car mapping services.
The company that got its start in the paper-mapping business has now integrated the desktop with personal portable devices that have the ability to send maps to a phone or portable data assistants.
However, with directions available on the web, in cars and on phones, some users have come to rely on MapQuest and PDA devices for everyday travel. While the time-saving results and efficiency of MapQuest and other PDAs have aided countless people across the world, the long-term effects on memory have yet to be seen.
Drivers no longer think twice about directions once committed to memory. There are plenty of drivers today who follow directions given to them by the generator without the slightest effort to process the information – many less retain the instructions. And as a result, dependence on the device becomes necessary, crippling drivers from the ability to travel without it, according to Meredith College psychology professor David Heining-Boynton.
“It has the same effect as being a passenger,” David Heining-Boynton said. “People don’t pay attention to the roads or process the information and they’ll need the device for next time. We suspect this dependence to be detrimental in the long run, but we also have more things to remember today.”
Psychologists’ speculations about the long-term effects spans broader than MapQuest, covering a wide range of recent technological advances that now do the work for consumers.
“It is clear that if we don’t use part of our brain, then it has to have a toll,” Heining-Boynton said.
Recent studies have shown that one of the main ways to prevent memory loss is memorization. But with phones, computers and GPS systems that do everything for us, there is no need to memorize the information, according to psychologist Richard Roche.
“The brain is like a muscle that should be exercised as a defense against dementia, cognitive lapses and memory failure,” Roche said at a conference last year.
According to the American Psychological Association, such exercise is urgent for our generation; a study done in 2001 demonstrated that memory begins to decline in our mid-20s.
However, Denise Park, leading psychologist in the study, also contends that brain exercise contributes significantly to memory improvement.
“Cognitive performance is a direct result of brain activity and brain structure,” Park said, “much like cardiovascular fitness relates to our ability to exercise and perform physical tasks.”
But MapQuest does have some positive aspects, Heining-Boynton said. Because people are no longer traveling locally, MapQuest and PDAs can save some people from getting lost in an unknown area.
“But we definitely have more crutches now, and the toll these devices are taking on our memories will be evident soon enough,” he said.
