Each year, technology strengthens its grip on our everyday lives. And with progress showing no signs of slowing, it’s increasingly hard to remember what life was like before the tech took over. Despite this, there are those who appear to be hankering after simpler times – ditching smartphones for 3310s, rediscovering vinyl or logging off Facebook for good.
But is this just the minority giving in to pangs of nostalgia, or is there more to it? Perhaps a growing group who have stumbled on something the rest of us haven’t yet – that things really did used to be… better?
Well, here at EE, we wanted answers. So to settle things once and for all, we pitted the old against the new to find out who wins – tech or tradition?
Google Maps vs. Print maps
Print maps first appeared in the 15th century, as intricate parchments for intrepid explorers. Fast-forward 500 years and anyone can buy the A-to-Z for a couple of quid at the local garage. But while maps have changed over the centuries, their purpose hasn’t: getting you from A-to-B, as quickly and easily as possible. So when Google Maps came along, it was a game-changer.
Bursting onto our desktops in 2005, Google Maps took all the pain out of map reading – pinpointing your location, planning your route and even giving you directions. But the real turning point was when the app landed in 2008, placing a free, dynamic map in everyone’s pockets. It meant goodbye to unfolding giant maps, farewell to printouts for job interviews and sayonara to getting lost on holiday.
Today, anyone with a smartphone can instantly see where they are and the best route to where they’re going. So while print maps were instrumental in getting us here, it looks like they’ve finally come to the end of their journey.
RESULT: TECH WINS!