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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

#31

Post by MRSallee »

r0h1n wrote: post #13
MRSallee wrote: post #11

I think there are some UX issues with infinite scroll, and probably some cognitive benefit to giving users a predictable end to use of a product, but I don't think many people ever completed a newspaper every day. To me, a daily copy of the Times is just as infinite as my Twitter feed.

I disagree. While nobody may read every single article in a paper, we can comfortably scan all of it and decide which ones are worth reading. That is what the author is referring to, not the act of literally reading everything in your infinite TL...which is what you allude to by saying "I don't think many people ever completed a newspaper every day."

I'll be honest, I've never been a newspaper guy, but do people really go through them front to back or just scan the front page and jump to the section (sports, movie show times, etc.) they're specifically interested in?

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

#32

Post by kbenson »

MRSallee wrote: post #31
r0h1n wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I disagree. While nobody may read every single article in a paper, we can comfortably scan all of it and decide which ones are worth reading. That is what the author is referring to, not the act of literally reading everything in your infinite TL...which is what you allude to by saying "I don't think many people ever completed a newspaper every day."

I'll be honest, I've never been a newspaper guy, but do people really go through them front to back or just scan the front page and jump to the section (sports, movie show times, etc.) they're specifically interested in?

I imagine it's like any large new source of entertainment/knowledge. At first, you'll not quite know what is interesting and worthwhile and what isn't, and will use guides to help you find what to read, and your forays into exploring further will meet with mixed success, as you waste time on things that in retrospect weren't worth it. As you become more accustomed to to the resource, you'll eventually be able to get a good idea of whether you'll like something from the section, headline, and if it gets that far, lead. At this point, since you might be scanning the whole document before you are done, jumping to sections because of main page leads isn't worth it, you'll get there eventually anyway.

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

#33

Post by avighnay »

'scroll sickness'

noun 1. nausea caused by endless web content, esp. by Facebook, Flickr, Mobile Apps, News Feeds

2. headache caused by intellectual bloat on consumption of too much content

3. compulsive behavior caused by intense boredom and brain freeze

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

#35

Post by justindocanto »

Before infinite scrolling, there was pagination, which also does not stop the user from digesting an entire database of content. Some infinity scrolling even requires a click; so, on those sites, it's the same amount of clicks to see more content as it is/was with pagination. I dont see infinite-scrolling being the cause of the problem.

I would suggest sites without filtering is the problem.

To get content that is a fixed length and consumable without overindulging, there needs to be a fixed amount of content that 1 person can digest. Otherwise, you just have this database/collection of content that 1 person cant quite possibly read in one sitting... regardless of if there is infinity scrolling, pagination, or some other way to navigate.

Newspapers, in a way, curate what they are going to display each day. It's like a filter in a way. All the content is filtered to show what can fit in X amount of pages.

Websites with this problem, if they want to solve the problem, need better filtering. That might not be the only solution, but i feel like it's a major contender in helping combat the problem of trying to figure out what to consume amongst limitless content consumption.

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

#36

Post by BSousa »

MRSallee wrote: post #31
r0h1n wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I disagree. While nobody may read every single article in a paper, we can comfortably scan all of it and decide which ones are worth reading. That is what the author is referring to, not the act of literally reading everything in your infinite TL...which is what you allude to by saying "I don't think many people ever completed a newspaper every day."

I'll be honest, I've never been a newspaper guy, but do people really go through them front to back or just scan the front page and jump to the section (sports, movie show times, etc.) they're specifically interested in?

For me and my wife (before our son was born, of course!) we usually read about 50% of the daily newspaper (Publico) and just about 100% of the weekly one (Expresso).

We usually would take the newspaper to the beach or a cafe, spend a few hours there just reading the paper (trading sections every so often) and chatting a bit about what we were reading. It was as nice ritual.

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

#37

Post by mcgwiz »

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 finish learning about the opinions and ideas of others.

Some activities just go on forever. We learn that certain activities have an end and others don't. The ones that don't we give attention to in a manner proportionate to their importance. In representing content streams as infinite, publishers are simply mimicking the interminable reality of that activity. Future generations will never have learned that there's a daily endpoint to what you can know about your friend's lives, current events, etc. What a silly proposition!

I (wildly) speculate the feeling that an end state is needed springs from weakness/inability in moderating one's impulses. The end state then is really just a crutch to force one to stop some obsessive activity.

[Edit: removed disparagement of Star Trek DS9.]

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

#38

Post by sanityinc »

Infinite scrolling (in a desktop browser) was why I stopped using Prismatic. The endlessness makes reading the news an uncomfortable, subtly stressful experience.

There's an expectation that curated content should be a high-quality subset of the whole internet, and providing an endless stream of content undermines that expectation.

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