GPS on mobile phones and other devices has made finding one’s way to unfamiliar places simple and convenient. Nevertheless, the skills developed by navigating via paper map are too important to ignore. In honor of National Read a Road Map Day, consider the important benefits of navigating the old-fashioned way.

Printed maps provide a big picture view, engage our brains and orient us to a place in a way that turn-by-turn directions do not. And, as anyone who has ever tried to refold a paper map knows, they can also test dexterity and coordination.

Katherine Martinko, senior writer for Treehugger, finds that when she travels, a paper map is vital for orienting her to her surroundings before she even leaves her hotel room. Unlike GPS, she wrote in 2017, "My trusty map...is all about context. Ask me the nearest bridge, major intersection, market, neighbourhood, or landmark, and I'll be able to tell you in an instant."

In “How Does GPS Technology Affect Our Understanding of Place?” author Mark Altaweel explained that because devices are mainly focused on finding the fastest route, users may be missing out on other preferences. “This can include experiencing less noise or perhaps a more scenic route that helps relax us. Navigation using GPS is mostly focused on avoiding annoyances that delay us but it does not select for things that may enrich our experience with a place,” he wrote.

Researchers at the University of Tokyo compared the experiences of study subjects using paper maps and those using GPS to navigate a city on foot. The study showed that those using GPS looked at their devices 30% more of the time than those who used a paper map. GPS users had 20% lower scene recognition memory and were more likely than the paper map users to follow the suggested route. Overall, the paper map users had a richer experience because they often strayed from their designated course to explore sights they encountered along the way, while the GPS users did not fully engage with their surroundings.

A 2006 study of London taxi drivers and bus drivers showed a correlation between navigation experience and the development of the hippocampus, the area of the brain associated with, among other things, spatial navigation and spatial memory. By comparing taxi drivers and bus drivers with similar driving experience and levels of stress, the researchers found that the taxi drivers had greater gray matter volume in mid-posterior hippocampi. They attributed this difference to the fact that the bus drivers followed specific routes while the taxi drivers had acquired vast amounts of knowledge related to navigating the city.

A recent survey by Erie Insurance looked at differences in driving behavior by generation, including navigation preferences. Not surprisingly, respondents of all ages have forsaken paper maps in favor of smartphone apps (53%) or in-car navigation systems (33%). Only 2% use a paper map. Fifty-one percent of the Gen Z respondents (ages 14 to 17) and 31% of Millenials (ages 18 to 34) reported that they have never used a paper map, compared to 94% of Baby Boomers (ages 51 to 69) who said they have. Nearly half of the Baby Boomers, however, said it had been more than five years since they'd used one. Paper still plays a role for some drivers, however. Ten percent of respondents across all age categories print out directions, but Baby Boomers are most likely to do so.

Authors Betsy Mason and Greg Miller make a compelling case for paper maps as much more than navigational tools. In their book, "All Over the Map: A Cartographic Odyssey," they show that maps can be beautiful, provide historical context, uncover mysteries and even tell us something about the mapmaker's intent and perspective.

NationalDayCalendar.com recommends observing the day by unfolding a traditional road map and using it to take a short trip, by teaching someone else to read a map and by using #NationalReadARoadMapDay to post on social media.

For more on how printed maps influence society, read Mapping since Mercator.

Editor’s note: This article was updated on April 9.