National parks may be seeing internet hotspots in the near future
The relaxing solitude and authentic experience Canadians find in the wilderness may be threatened in dozens of Canada’s wilderness zones. Parks Canada has been planning to install wireless internet hotspots in up to 50 of its national parks this year, and intends to triple that number soon after. Andrew Campbell, director of visitor experience with Parks Canada, says these wireless zones would be strictly placed in visitor centers and campgrounds only.
“Not in the wilderness, and not in the back country,” he told CTV’s Power Play. “What we’re trying to do is have it around the spots where people can write a digital postcard home, where they could, in the morning, pick up and take their digital subscription and read the newspaper when they’re around the campground.”
Implementing Wi-Fi in national parks can have many benefits, but it can also undermine the experience of campers and nature-lovers seeking to escape technology.
There has been an outpouring of negative reaction towards this new announcement, and it isn’t difficult to understand why. Natural parks are areas where Canadians can go to escape the chaos of the city, as well as the constant distraction of technology. The natural environment these parks offer is meant to embody exactly that: the authentic wilderness of Canada’s beautiful landscape. Introducing internet hotspots in areas where the sole purpose is to enjoy the wildlife and freedom from the distraction of technology defies the purpose of these park’s existence.
Campbell says that the agency is seeking ways to attract younger generations and urbanites to the wilderness, in order to boost visitor numbers. Approximately 20 million people visit Parks Canada’s parks every year, but that number has been steadily decreasing over the years.
“So what we’ve been looking at is how we can attract other audiences and more urban people, quite frankly, coming into natural areas, and how we can create that connection,” said Campbell.
Creating a connection in the wilderness by implementing technology seems to accomplish the very opposite of Campbell’s goals. Introducing technology into the wilderness takes away from the authentic, natural experience, and replaces it with one we are all part of on a daily basis. Our lives constantly revolve around social media; with constant texting, we stay connected at all times. It is difficult to escape from the constant need to “stay connected” with every single person we know through technology, and it will only grow more difficult to embrace the freeing experience of being in the wild with this new development.
“The wilderness is still going to be there for everyone; you just might have to hike a bit to get to it — but Jasper is a 10,000-square-kilometre park, so it’s there,” Campbell told CTV News. “There’s a lot of wilderness in Canada that will never be a Wi-Fi zone.” Parks Canada is working to attract younger visitors, but is sacrificing the very appeal of going to a park by making it a challenge to resist the temptations of checking one’s phone, or one’s e-mail, while trying to embrace the great outdoors. The best way to resist the temptation is to leave your gadgets at home and completely immerse yourself in the camping experience Canada’s parks have to offer. If you’re truly committed to escaping the constant updates of your Facebook newsfeed for the weekend, you can still have an authentic outdoor experience by leaving that connection behind and finding one through nature — one that Wi-Fi doesn’t have to be apart of.