It might depend on the precise definitions, but I am more likely to use electronics *for navigation* in densely populated area than sparsely populated.

I do have a Garmin running, but in examples of my riding from Prudhoe Bay to British Columbia, I haven't always downloaded a route to it. Instead, it becomes more of an odometer recording. The paper I like using in this case is a copy of The Milepost to get ideas of services/stops along the way.

In a more densely populated area, I am more likely to load a route into my bike computer. I don't keep a cell phone turned on, but I am also more likely to stop in a city and pull up an offline map (e.g. MAPS.ME, Organic Maps) to figure out exactly where I am - than try to rely on a paper map.

As far as Google Maps goes, agree with its use in finding services - though *for navigation* it is much more limited. The other uses I make of it is for time/distance budgeting. When planning a trip, I'll see what "Google Maps automobile route w/o highways" gives as distance. I might or might not actually ride that particular route - in sparsely populated area it might be *the* route but I'll at least have a distance approximation. I might also turn on bicycle instructions to get a rough metric of how hilly a route is (in countries with this info) - and again not ride that particular route.

So in summary:
- paper more likely in sparsely populated
- electronic more likely in densely populated
- offline maps as consultant when I am uncertain
- google maps for budgeting (distance, climb) and finding services
- gps recording but not always with a route downloaded