In the last post, I talked about how the constraints of smartphone screen size led to innovations in reading and writing. This time, I am going to expand the issue and talk about how it affects information load.
As we all know, the screen size of smartphones, though becoming larger and larger, is generally much smaller than desktops. Take Blogger as an example (see Image1-1). In its mobile version, only the main contents are shown. This is friendly in the way that it ensures the navigation bars, as less important information, would not take too much of the space and therefore discourage readers to read the main contents. Yet, with the deletion of sidebars (especially archive), it disables readers from applying "selection filters", which means readers are not allowed to choose what they want to read intuitively. They basically have to click on each post, which is quite inconvenient.
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| Image 1-1: Screenshots of Blogger blogs in its mobile (left) and desktop (right) version |
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| Image 1-2: Screenshots of mobile app version of Apple Daily (left) and BBC News (right) |
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| Image 1-3: Screenshot of BBC News in desktop version, where information could be presented in various columns |
Do smartphones facilitate smart reading?
The examples illustrate that mobile reading might not be more pleasant than reading via desktops. Because of limited screen size, there is a rather strict layout constraint for smartphones. Unlike desktop version (see Image 1-3), information has to be crammed in a vertical screen, which means organizing information into different columns more difficult. It is therefore possible for mobile readers to find that they suffer from excessive information load. While some may say ignoring is one good strategy of dealing with information overload, researchers are developing new smartphone application to tackle the problem. A recent American poll shows almost 85% of adults use smartphones to access the Internet, 80% use it to send and receive emails, and 60% use it for social networking. It is therefore difficult to deny that we are sending, receiving, processing (and deleting) a substantial amount of information every day. David Sirota, a writer and commentator, coins information overload "Information Disease", and he claims smartphones, with virtually unlimited capacities for hyperconnectivity, are among the most powerful factors in the spread of Information Disease (and in the killing of real conversations, says King). And, drawing from the results of the same poll, Sirota concludes that most of us "do not truly require more connectivity than what a stupidphone could provide", as sending as receiving text messages - the top purpose for all mobile phone owners - is something that both smartphones and stupidphones could do. He says rejecting smartphones, as a way of preventing Information Disease, is more healthy for us in the long run.
The examples illustrate that mobile reading might not be more pleasant than reading via desktops. Because of limited screen size, there is a rather strict layout constraint for smartphones. Unlike desktop version (see Image 1-3), information has to be crammed in a vertical screen, which means organizing information into different columns more difficult. It is therefore possible for mobile readers to find that they suffer from excessive information load. While some may say ignoring is one good strategy of dealing with information overload, researchers are developing new smartphone application to tackle the problem. A recent American poll shows almost 85% of adults use smartphones to access the Internet, 80% use it to send and receive emails, and 60% use it for social networking. It is therefore difficult to deny that we are sending, receiving, processing (and deleting) a substantial amount of information every day. David Sirota, a writer and commentator, coins information overload "Information Disease", and he claims smartphones, with virtually unlimited capacities for hyperconnectivity, are among the most powerful factors in the spread of Information Disease (and in the killing of real conversations, says King). And, drawing from the results of the same poll, Sirota concludes that most of us "do not truly require more connectivity than what a stupidphone could provide", as sending as receiving text messages - the top purpose for all mobile phone owners - is something that both smartphones and stupidphones could do. He says rejecting smartphones, as a way of preventing Information Disease, is more healthy for us in the long run.
I know this is a controversial topic after all. No matter you own a smartphone or not, hopefully it is a good time for us to think about how technologies affect information processing in the information age, and what impacts does information overload bring to us. There's an excellent video which revisits the myth of whether or not fast information growth helps us live better lives. Don't miss it!
Here are some related posts that you might also be interested in:
Sirota's article on going back to stupidphones (Read the full poll results here!)
There's such a thing as being too connected (Try the comprehensive test and you'll know how much are you addicted to technology!)
Where's productivity and time? (How often have we ended up surfing the net for hours without completing something urgent, and spending a lot of time reviewing the information we receive?)
As a smartphone user, I agree that smartphone have actually complicated our life by making information overload portable!
ReplyDeleteSome may suggest that users can control when and where to check the upcoming information. However, smartphone can still bring you nuisance since "Instant messager" are perceived to need instant reply for other smartphone users!
Therefore every time when I need to concentrate I need to turn the connection to Internet off. We may not have to really throw our smartphone away. Maybe the a feasible way to deal with the issue is to rank down the priority of "Checking your mobile" during multi-tasking, and think again the importance of these information : Do we really need to check that every 10 minutes?
Very nice post. I hadn't thought about the role that smartphones play in information overload in this way before. Another difference, of course, is that because of the small size it is not possible to multi-task (with multiple windows on the same screen) in the same way that you can on a desktop or laptop. In terms of dealing with information overload, one strategy is (as Ken suggests) to switch off (but I can't remember the last time I turned off my smartphone!).
ReplyDelete@Ken: Exactly! I think maintaining self-discipline is the only feasible and effective solution for all smartphone users. It's like we need to develop a built-in mechanism of when to go online, and when to unplug ourselves from the net. It's sometimes easier said than done though.
ReplyDelete@Christoph: Thanks! I do think that it's a lot easier (and friendlier) to read and analyze online information on desktops, as the reading process on smartphones could simply be interrupted by the Whatsapp messages, facebook notifications and the like. It's like we really have to switch off the Internet function should we want some personal space every night. :)
Hi all,
ReplyDeletehahah, agree with Christoph about turning off the smartphone.
I doubt that if addition to smartphone / Internet is really the problem of status quo. I mean, this might have been happening since human history. In every era, there might be something that get people addicted or interrupted, like the emergences of phone or any toys.
Since smartphone is just a medium which stand in between the content and us, and all of them interact, it might not be a problem of merely one side. But I do agree with Emily's suggestion. Maintaining self-discipline would be the best antidote.
Yes I also agree that the small size of smartphone screen has the constraint of less information can be shown. So sometimes for pleasure I would rather wait until I back home to use notebook/desktop to browse the website I want to watch in full details instead of browsing smartphone outside. It's really too tired to watch a lot of text in smartphone and it is bad for our eyes as well. I would rather mainly use smartphone in purpose for simly checking e-mail, entertaining and social networking. That's already enough and spend plenty much time. And sure we should have conscious control on our spending time on new media devices to avoid information overload.
ReplyDeleteHi all,
ReplyDeleteas a smartphone user, I must say that it definitely makes me feel like I have information overload everytime I switch on my phone (I do swtich off my phone merely because I need to get it charged), like pop-up new messages, badges, things like that. Somehow these things annoy me very much, but I still can't get my eyes off my phone, sadly.
interesting topic that you have raised, guess i need some self-displine right now, like switching off my phone for a start...
This is quite a supportive post for me to continue using my old mobile phone which is not a smart phone. I am sometimes already tired of the information overload from my computer when I have to check 3-4 email accounts and reply messages. One reason why I still use my old 2G phone is because being connected on the Internet is like a loss of privacy from unwanted information like digital ads or facebook updates.
ReplyDelete@Noc: Indeed. We are not the trendsetters, but we do have a choice - to follow the trend or stay in our 'comfort zone'. The only thing we individuals could do is to adapt, if not riding against the tide.
ReplyDelete@King: I feel the same too. Staying on the screen for a long time without shifting attention to something else could lead to eye strain. If we want to kill time when commuting, we might simply observe people behavior instead of playing with the phone all the time. I do think observation is a more interesting exercise ^^
@Vivian: I think one possible reason could be the notification system, which requires instant attention from you. Perhaps you could turn off all the notifications and see if it works! :)
@Alex: You are really a busy man, haha. I'm not totally against digital ads and social apps though, but I understand your concern that over-connectivity would take away personal time. Perhaps you could treat social networking as a good waiting-time killer - I do facebook for a short while while standing in long queues!