Young people may not know how to read a map if there’s a cyber attack

| Freelance News Reporter Published November 9, 2026 3:19pm Updated November 9, 2026 3:20pm Digital wayfinding has left a generation less equipped with traditional map reading skills to find their way around without the internet, experts have warned (Picture: Getty Images/Image Source) With Google Maps and satnavs now the primary tools of navigation for many, the good old fashioned map is fast becoming something of an outdated library relic. And yet, in the event of a widespread internet outage, we may be left with no choice but to return to print in order to get around. Experts are warning that younger generations may lack the skills needed for traditional wayfinding if suddenly forced offline. With nearly 100% of 16 to 24-year-olds owning a phone, most have never had to reach for an A to Z or Collins road atlas – once navigational essentials in every household. Michael Bond, a human behaviour expert, said people were losing a sense of spatial awareness and a ‘connection to the landscape’ as a result of reliance of technology for getting around. Sign up for all of the latest stories Start your day informed with Metro's News Updates newsletter or get Breaking News alerts the moment it happens. He explained the spatial part of the brain is ‘completely inactive’ when using tools such as Google or Apple Maps. But he added that it was always possible to revive such skills. ‘I don’t think we ever lose that possibility. The brain is pretty efficient in its use of resources’, he told Daily Mail. He said the extent that people would cope without GPSwould depend partly on how well they remember their regular routes, with many likely to struggle outside their normal neighbourhoods. With Google Maps and sat nav tools, few of us have to reach for an A to Z to find our way around (Picture: Future) Ramsey Faragher, chief executive of the Royal Institute of Navigation compared the impact of digital navigation tools to the advent of calculators, which removed much of the need for everyday basic mental arithmetic. He said some of the effects of an internet blackout on wayfinding would be mitigated by ‘reasonably good’ road signage in the UK. Ordinance Survey head of research Andy Gardiner said that digital wayfinding had undoubtedly helped people travel with more confidence but that spatial awareness is developed with active engagement with the environment and landmarks and forming connections between places. ‘Recognising landmarks, understanding directions, and knowing how to use a map can provide people who are navigating with confidence when technology isn’t available’, he said. However some worry that a sudden internet failure or cyber incident could be equally if not more damaging for machines as opposed to humans. Roger McKinlay, the former president of the Royal Institute of Navigation, and part of the team that built that first GPS systems in the 1980s, saidhumans were instinctively better at positioning and navigation than many computer systems. He said even many large systems that rely on GPS, such as the maritime industry, are resilient and frequently survive without it. But he added that a general loss of wayfinding skills was a ‘problem waiting to happen’. Last week, the chief of the UK’s National Cyber Security Centre said the country must be prepared for an attack on its critical infrastructure, which is embedded in all parts of civil life, from transport to defence and energy systems. Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk. For more stories like this, check our news page. Arrow MORE: Google ‘refused’ Trump’s request to rename the Atlantic Ocean after himself News Updates Stay on top of the headlines with daily email updates.