navigation apps since you came into our lives “I know the way, I don’t need navigation.” Even those who say this seem to be backed into a corner, right?

Thanks to these great little helpers, finding the shortest route, avoiding traffic and even discovering the nearest gas station is now at your fingertips. But these technological wonders sometimes surprising It can create more traffic.

Let’s delve a little deeper into this ironic situation. For everyone at first glance An application that suggests the fastest path, You might think it should minimize traffic problems. But that’s not the truth. How works? Let’s take you downstairs.

When navigation applications sometimes suggest routes that seem to make the most sense to everyone, they can actually fill those routes to the brim.

In a sense, the “shortest path” can suddenly become the “longest path.” In addition, route suggestions from smart applications can sometimes even lead to quiet neighborhood roads. They can become busy streets. Yes, you heard right!

When everyone starts using the same undiscovered shortcut, that quiet streets can turn into small highways, and this local residents It can have unpleasant consequences for both those who want to use that path.

Navigation applications that aim to get users to their destinations in the fastest and most efficient way are essentially creating a ‘smart traffic’ paradox.

However, every user the same route monitoring creates new traffic jams. Now that I think about it, it sounds familiar, right? Applications that offer you different routes, especially if you go to a new city, It’s like he jumped out of nowhere It takes you places.

To better understand the insidious role of navigation apps in driving traffic, it’s helpful to understand a little about how they work.

Applications, we’re just with data collected from drivers It calculates which roads are less busy (yes, like our current speed and location). It then sends that information back to everyone on the road. Beautiful, practical, useful but This is where the strangeness begins.

Imagine this: you went to work one morning and the job application from the busiest street in the city He sent me to a different route. “Wow!” You said and took your new route. But remember: with you thousands of people at the same time receive the same information. And that quiet street suddenly became a popular route.

This situation is the ‘tragedy of the commons’ (tragedy of public property) It’s like a traffic version of a social phenomenon known as traffic. If everyone tries to make the best choice, taking into account their own interests, the end result is a bad outcome for all of us.

It would be a lie if we said we were surprised, because from the moment he sent us to the mountaintop, it was clear that something was wrong with this… Don’t forget to share your thoughts in the comments!

Below you will find our related content: