Exploring apps users' experiences with app notifications
Date
2017
Authors
Bombardi-Bragg, Madeline Renee, author
Sivakumar, Gayathri, advisor
Abrams, Katie, committee member
Elkins, Evan, committee member
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Abstract
There is a cultural tendency towards technological consumption that leads many people to spend an abundant amount of time interacting with technological devices. These interactions can at times make users feel stressed, annoyed, distracted, or left with feelings of constant pressure to 'check-in' with their online environments. Since such feelings are undesirable, their occurrence is likewise problematic. An important solution to one part of this problem lies with implementing better interface design for user experiences. When web designers, project managers, marketers, app developers and publishers, actively elicit and listen to reports of consumers' experiences with their products, both parties benefit from mutual guidance. The following research explored app users' experiences with, feelings towards, and overall impressions of app notifications to understand and unveil the individual differences that lead users to have different experiences and emotional responses to app notifications. Using the phenomenological approach, the researcher conducted ten in-depth, semi-structured interviews to provide a rich examination of users' experiences with app notifications by way of discussing their specific experiences in an attempt to understand what contributes to a positive or negative app notification experience. Thematic analysis was used to organize the collected data and identify possible themes. The study conclusion posits that users have negative experiences and harbor negative feelings towards app notifications because they lack additional control over their settings which helps users filter out online information that is deemed unimportant or received at undesired or inopportune times.