A recent meta-analysis exploring the relationship between GPS use and navigational abilities found that individuals who rely more heavily on GPS tend to have slightly worse environmental knowledge and a poorer sense of direction. However, the study found no significant association between GPS use and wayfinding ability. The research was published in the Journal of Environmental Psychology.
GPS, or the Global Positioning System, is a satellite-based navigation system that provides location and time data anywhere on Earth. It operates through a network of at least 24 satellites orbiting the planet, which transmit signals to GPS receivers on the ground. These receivers calculate their precise location by triangulating signals from multiple satellites. Initially developed by the U.S. government for military purposes, GPS is now widely used in civilian applications such as mapping, navigation, and tracking.
Today, GPS technology is integrated into smartphones, vehicles, and wearable devices, playing a crucial role in transportation, logistics, emergency services, and scientific research. It is a tool embedded in nearly every aspect of daily life where navigation is essential.
However, there are growing concerns that heavy reliance on GPS might erode traditional navigational skills that humans have used for centuries. Relying on GPS can reduce the need for individuals to memorize landmarks and spatial cues from their environment, which were once essential for navigation. Furthermore, since GPS continuously provides directional information, individuals may gradually lose their innate sense of direction and ability to find their way without technological assistance.
Study author Laura Miola and her colleagues set out to examine the existing body of scientific evidence regarding the impact of GPS use on navigational abilities. They conducted a meta-analysis of studies that explored the relationship between GPS use and three main navigation-related outcomes: environmental knowledge, wayfinding performance, and sense of direction.
The research team searched for studies involving individuals aged 16 years or older that included experimental conditions where participants used GPS and compared them to conditions where participants navigated without GPS or used alternative methods (such as maps, asking for directions, or navigating unaided). They focused on studies that measured outcomes related to environmental knowledge, wayfinding, and self-reported navigational abilities.
The search identified 23 studies that met the inclusion criteria. The sample sizes of these studies ranged from 13 to 636 participants, with ages spanning from 16 to 84 years. Most of the studies collected data at a single time point, although one study measured results after three months, and another followed participants over a three-year period.
Out of the 23 studies, 11 assessed environmental knowledge, which involved a learning phase where participants familiarized themselves with a specific environment. Similarly, 11 studies evaluated wayfinding performance, measuring how participants navigated from one location to another. Another 11 studies assessed participants’ sense of direction using questionnaires.
The overall findings revealed that frequent GPS use was associated with slightly poorer environmental knowledge and sense of direction. Interestingly, the study did not find a significant relationship between GPS use and wayfinding performance, suggesting that using GPS may not hinder people’s ability to follow routes or find their destination during navigation tasks.
“GPS use is negatively associated with navigation ability, specifically environmental knowledge and sense of direction, indicating that the more individuals rely on GPS to reach destinations, the more poorly they perceive their navigation skills and the poorer is their knowledge of the environment,” the study authors concluded.
The researchers also emphasized the bidirectional nature of this relationship. Individuals who already struggle with spatial learning or forming a mental map of their environment may turn to GPS more frequently, which further weakens their natural navigation skills. “This intriguing link might suggest that individuals who have a weaker ‘internal’ ability to use spatial knowledge to navigate their surroundings are also more prone to rely on ‘external’ devices or systems to navigate successfully,” the authors explained.
The study sheds light on the links between individual navigational abilities and the use of GPS. However, it should be noted that the associations found were very weak, indicating that the sense of direction and environmental knowledge of individuals who frequently use GPS are only slightly worse than those who use it less often.
The paper, “GPS use and navigation ability: A systematic review and meta-analysis,” was authored by Laura Miola, Veronica Muffato, Enrico Sella, Chiara Meneghetti, and Francesca Pazzaglia.