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  [119]News

One in four internet users are overwhelmed by the clutter in their browser

  Published: 25.4.2023
  Study reveals that some coping strategies only make the problem worse
  Briwsing clutter
  Browsing habits play a major role in cluttering up a browser. Image:
  Matti Ahlgren / Aalto University

  Five billion people spend almost half of their waking hours online.
  According to a [120]new study from Aalto University, browser clutter is
  a serious problem for one in four of them. The results will be
  presented on April 27 at CHI 2023, the leading conference for
  human-computer interaction research.

  ‘We began exploring which challenges make users feel overwhelmed when
  browsing the internet. We also mapped the behaviors that cause the
  clutter and how users react to the stress,’ says Associate Professor
  and Head of Department Janne Lindqvist.

  Browsing habits play a major role in cluttering up a browser. Using
  interviews and an online survey, the researchers found that
  clutter-related stress goes up when users keep a large number of tabs
  and browser windows open, as well as because of interactive elements
  like ads and pop-up windows.

  Multitasking adds to the problem, and it gets worse if users are
  hesitant to close tabs or are dealing with complex tasks. Clutter also
  accumulates when users have tabs open related to different online
  activities – for example, if they’re managing a travel reservation in
  one tab and chatting with friends or colleagues in another.

  ‘It’s as though a kitchen table were being used as a dining table, a
  desk for older children's homework, and a play table for the youngest –
  all at the same time and without any tidying,’ explains Lindqvist.

  Leaving web pages open after you’re done with them adds to the mess,
  and clutter is also influenced by how we search for information and
  move from page to page. ‘People easily forget what they were looking
  for. Our concentration lapses when interesting things appear on screen,
  and then we start following links and collecting tabs,’ says Lindqvist.

Only problem-focused strategies help with the actual problem

  The study found that many users react to stress by trying to change
  either their behavior or their attitude towards the clutter. Only the
  former, problem-focused solutions, proved helpful in solving the issue.
  An example solution would be to consciously minimize clutter by
  deciding on an upper limit to the number of tabs you have open.

  ‘But even problem-focused solutions aren’t always effective, as we
  learned from our interview participants. Sometimes, the effort stops
  users from adopting these strategies​,’ notes doctoral researcher
  Rongjun Ma.

  The researchers found that trying to cope by changing your attitude can
  be counter-productive. Emotion-focused strategies, like trying not to
  think about the stress or adapting to it through discussions among
  colleagues can end up sustaining the problem by preventing people from
  using solutions that would actually tackle the clutter.

  But emotion-focused strategies can also be useful in certain
  situations, notes doctoral researcher Henrik Lassila. ‘An individual
  user has very limited means to influence the number of pop-up windows
  or advertisements on a website, for example, so finding ways to cope
  can help,’ says Lassila.

  The researchers pointed out that ‘organizing’ techniques, such as using
  tools to manage tabs, might just lead to more clutter. ‘These
  approaches are similar to someone not actually cleaning but just
  rearranging things in the same space – the problem doesn’t go away,’
  says Lindqvist.

  Lindqvist hopes that the team’s findings will help people examine their
  own browsing behavior and improve their experience. To him, this
  research fits into a broader effort to benefit from computers while
  dealing with as few of their quirks and disadvantages as possible.

  ‘We use computers every day, and it's definitely not always ideal. Many
  things would actually be much better handled only on paper,’ he says.
  ‘I look at this from the point of view of how we can live a meaningful
  and good life despite computers.’

[121]Janne Lindqvist

  Associate Professor
  [122][email protected]

[123]Henrik Lassila

  Doctoral Researcher
  [124][email protected]
  [125]+358505202868

[126]Rongjun Ma

  Doctoral Researcher
  [127][email protected]
  [128]+358504730049
    * Published: 25.4.2023
    * Updated: 25.4.2023

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  [129]See all
  Forest
  Research & Art Published: 16.5.2023

[130]Johan Gullichsen in memoriam

  Gullichsen had a distinguished career as a Professor of Cellulose
  Technology and contributed with his inventions to sustainable
  production methods in the pulp industry.
  Sesilja Aranko.
  Research & Art Published: 15.5.2023

[131]Considerable Novo Nordisk funding for researcher Sesilja Aranko

  Staff Scientist Sesilja Aranko has been awarded the highly competed
  Emerging Investigator 2023 Grant from Novo Nordisk Foundation for a
  research project focusing on post-translational modifications in
  protein-based biomaterials. The grant awarded is 10 million DKK
  (approx. 1.34M€) for a five-year period.
  People standing in building
  Research & Art Published: 15.5.2023

[132]New AI research project investigates migrant trust and inclusive digital
public services

  Researchers are investigating what trustworthiness means for migrants
  in the digital age and how digital public services could be made more
  inclusive using multimodal conversational AI
  Jason Selvarajan, photo by Jessica Sinikoski.
  Campus Published: 15.5.2023

[133]Jason Selvarajan: A shared kitchen helps me bring people together

  'When I started the job, I was told that they were looking for a ‘mood
  manager’ whose job was to create a good, positive atmosphere with the
  attitude that anything is possible. I'm not always in a good mood,
  though, despite what other people say.'
  [134]See all

   1. [135]Home

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    One in four internet users are overwhelmed by the clutter in their
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