I don't think anyone has called me a drooling idiot, thought rightfully so a scatterbrain. I could never memorize more than a couple phone numbers even when I was young. So "smart phones" have been a blessing.When I was young, everyone knew their friends' phone numbers. Now nobody does, because those numbers are at one remove: nobody goes into their phone and looks for a number, they scroll down and press "Eric" or "Erica". Not only does that mean when their phone runs out they can't dial on anyone else's, it means they aren't stretching their own brains. The road to drooling idiocy....
So has GPS. In the "bad old days" I had to plan every trip ahead with multiple maps or printed cards and had to stop often to get my bearings. The only plus was once I get someplace once, I can get there again (usually) without the maps. But that last part hasn't changed with GPS.
So maybe my perspective is a little different and makes me a bit less judgmental?
Back to the birding: granted, I'm probably not a "birder" by strict definition...I enjoy photographing wildlife. Sometimes I just watch, often I photograph and admire the still images back home, often it's both. Just happens it's mostly birds because wild mammals are so much more elusive.
If it wasn't for digital cameras, I wouldn't be this into birds. Sure, I always like animals and enjoyed nature walks, but now I want to know what they are called and why they are there.
So not all digital technology is evil or some anathema to birding.