I love and embrace technology as much as the next person, but there is a time and a place isn’t there?
For example, in a recent visit to Hampton Court, my daughter was offered the option of walking around using a tablet as a guide instead of an audio guide. I am thankful to say she declined and after observing her friends using them on the visit, she commented: “They were just looking down at the tablet the whole time and not looking around at the place itself.”
Surely you don’t take a trip out to an historic building like Hampton Court just to look at a screen?
In the same week, one of our local museums shut down, to be replaced by a Museum Without Walls – basically an online display of the exhibits.
I’m not saying there is anything wrong with learning about Hampton Court on your tablet when you are at home, or having a museum displayed online as well as in the flesh – as long as it is not at the expense of the real experience.
The Museo Nacional Del Prado, in Madrid, can also now be visited virtually via an iPad app, which displays the works of art in high resolution photographs.
The museum’s deputy director Gabriele Finaldi, told the Independent: “There’s no substitution for standing in front of the painting itself, but I think an app like this can give real added value, whether you’re a person who can visit the museum or whether you want to explore the works of art from the comfort of your own home.”