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Why Infinite-Scrolling in Mobile Apps is Destroying Content Consumption

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Re: Why Infinite-Scrolling in Mobile Apps is Destroying Content Consumption

#61

Post by omaranto »

md224 wrote: post #23

> After spending hours scrolling through Instagram, Facebook, Twitter or Flipboard our mind feels tired. We feel intellectually bloated, and yet completely unsatisfied. Why? Because there is more out there. What if I’m missing out on something? What if there is some critical piece of knowledge just three flicks of my finger upwards? The author seems to be essentially describing an addiction, and suggesting that the c…

It won't help everyone overcome their addiction, but some people just need a tiny bit of friction to stop reading. The brief moment where you need to click "Next" instead of scrolling can be enough for you to realize you've had enough. I especially like HN's design, where not only is there pagination but the "next" link doesn't take you to the next page it only gives you a page that says "link expired". if you really, really want to keep procrastinate you need to refresh.

Re: Why Infinite-Scrolling in Mobile Apps is Destroying Content Consumption

#62

Post by nilkn »

Many of the complaints here can be solved via a good implementation of infinite scrolling.

The URL should auto-update to reflect the current state of the content that has been loaded onto the page (the only exceptions are when the content is highly dynamic and pagination becomes somewhat meaningless over even short time intervals).

Either manual invocation of the scrolling should be necessary (so access to the site footer is not restricted) or else the site footer should be re-designed so it is still accessible (Twitter, for instance, just puts an information box on the left with links that would normally be in the footer).

It is also very important that clicking on a link on the page and then going back should restore the full state of the page, including scrolling position, at least to the greatest extent possible.

Ideally a visual separator should be inserted between different pages of content. This helps the user maintain context of where they are in the content stream.

Re: Why Infinite-Scrolling in Mobile Apps is Destroying Content Consumption

#63

Post by aestra »

minimaxir wrote: post #6
JetSpiegel wrote: post #3

"There is no reason why Facebook, Instagram or Twitter can’t algorithmically determine which, say 20 posts are important to us, and give the option to only view those." What could possibly go wrong?

Facebook actually does that right now via EdgeRank. (unlike Twitter and Instagram which is strict chronological) The results are not good.

I find it doesn't really do this on the mobile site.

Re: Why Infinite-Scrolling in Mobile Apps is Destroying Content Consumption

#64

Post by pessimizer »

>After spending hours scrolling through Instagram, Facebook, Twitter or Flipboard our mind feels tired. We feel intellectually bloated, and yet completely unsatisfied.

Standard reaction to an excess of intellectual carbs. Paginating that crap would be like individually wrapping each slice of that cake you bought for yourself - a misguided strategy to slow yourself down that you'll blow right through when you're sugar-crazy.

These services have no end because they have very little structured content at all.

Re: Why Infinite-Scrolling in Mobile Apps is Destroying Content Consumption

#66

Post by JohnTHaller »

nilkn wrote: post #62

Many of the complaints here can be solved via a good implementation of infinite scrolling. The URL should auto-update to reflect the current state of the content that has been loaded onto the page (the only exceptions are when the content is highly dynamic and pagination becomes somewhat meaningless over even short time intervals). Either manual invocation of the scrolling should be necessary (so access to the site f…

Or, it could just be different pages of content and the back button actually works in every instance and the scrolling position is automatically (and accurately) preserved by the browser. As opposed to infinite scroll with updating URLs that inserts 10 different items in your browser history, breaking proper back button functionality to fit the view of what a designer thinks are all the pages you visited while you, as a user, just scrolled a single page and think the back button should take you back to the site you just came from.

Re: Why Infinite-Scrolling in Mobile Apps is Destroying Content Consumption

#67

Post by JohnTHaller »

You can also add that it's impossible to reach the site's footer where we expect to find the more detailed navigation elements of a site (like easy access to Contact, About, etc) and that it breaks the back button when designers make up their mind that you just scrolled through 10 'pages' on their site and updated the URL 10 times, so when you click back to escape their overloaded site to the site you came from, you have to click it 10 times to get there.

Re: Why Infinite-Scrolling in Mobile Apps is Destroying Content Consumption

#68

Post by guspe »

mcgwiz wrote: post #37

I disagree with this premise, that we necessarily need that "end" state in content consumption. As many things in the real world have an end state as (effectively) don't. I can finish a game of Risk, but I will never finish building relationships with my friends. I can finish a pile of tacos, but I will never finish seeking an understanding of my existence. I can finish re-watching all Star Trek series, but I cannot…

Yeah, this was more or less my reaction to this article too. Much before infinite scrolling in apps, there were libraries so overwhelming in sheer volume of content that lead Borges to conceive the universe in the form of "The Library of Babel".

Simply putting a stop to scrolling will not end the feeling of unsatisfaction, it will not end the fear of missing out. Infinite scrolling is the consequence, not the cause of our dissatisfaction.

Re: Why Infinite-Scrolling in Mobile Apps is Destroying Content Consumption

#69

Post by triangleman83 »

mschuster91 wrote: post #50

What's worse, you're not even able to "replay" a whole night in a moderate Twitter feed. Simply put, I follow ~30 medium-activity accounts, I go to bed and when I wake up, I can't reach the same point in the timeline again as over 800 tweets have been posted. Please, for heavens sake, allow the addicted to read their whole timeline. Thanks.

I would have the same problem and then prune my twitter follows down to something more manageable. Then I would slowly build up again and the same problem would occur. Now I just switched on mobile notifications for the follows who I really want to read everything they post, which has really just created another, smaller twitter feed.

What we really need is for the app to keep track of where you left off, cull the new posts into a separate page, giving you something easier to work with and catch up.

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