Lost in email: Pulling users down a path of interaction

Benjamin V. Hanrahan; Manuel A. Pérez-Quĩnones

doi:10.1145/2702123.2702351

Lost in email: Pulling users down a path of interaction

Benjamin V. Hanrahan, Manuel A. Pérez-Quĩnones

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Conference contribution

12 Scopus citations

Abstract

In this paper we describe a study exploring why users spend more time in email than originally intended, which we call getting lost in email. To study this phenomenon, we implemented an IMAP logger that also dispatched diary entries to collect data for twenty participants over a two week period. Most participants reported getting lost in email during both short and long sessions. Our analysis suggests two primary factors in getting lost: The number of emails awaiting a reply and whether or not the session caused an interruption. We conclude that much of the problem around getting lost in email is in managing the tension between promptly responding to messages while limiting engagement with email.

Original language	English (US)
Title of host publication	CHI 2015 - Proceedings of the 33rd Annual CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems
Subtitle of host publication	Crossings
Publisher	Association for Computing Machinery
Pages	3981-3984
Number of pages	4
ISBN (Electronic)	9781450331456
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1145/2702123.2702351
State	Published - Apr 18 2015
Event	33rd Annual CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, CHI 2015 - Seoul, Korea, Republic of Duration: Apr 18 2015 → Apr 23 2015

Publication series

Name	Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems - Proceedings
Volume	2015-April

Other

Other	33rd Annual CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, CHI 2015
Country/Territory	Korea, Republic of
City	Seoul
Period	4/18/15 → 4/23/15

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

Software
Human-Computer Interaction
Computer Graphics and Computer-Aided Design

Access to Document

10.1145/2702123.2702351

Cite this

Hanrahan, B. V., & Pérez-Quĩnones, M. A. (2015). Lost in email: Pulling users down a path of interaction. In CHI 2015 - Proceedings of the 33rd Annual CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems: Crossings (pp. 3981-3984). (Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems - Proceedings; Vol. 2015-April). Association for Computing Machinery. https://doi.org/10.1145/2702123.2702351

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title = "Lost in email: Pulling users down a path of interaction",

abstract = "In this paper we describe a study exploring why users spend more time in email than originally intended, which we call getting lost in email. To study this phenomenon, we implemented an IMAP logger that also dispatched diary entries to collect data for twenty participants over a two week period. Most participants reported getting lost in email during both short and long sessions. Our analysis suggests two primary factors in getting lost: The number of emails awaiting a reply and whether or not the session caused an interruption. We conclude that much of the problem around getting lost in email is in managing the tension between promptly responding to messages while limiting engagement with email.",

author = "Hanrahan, {Benjamin V.} and P{\'e}rez-Quĩnones, {Manuel A.}",

year = "2015",

month = apr,

day = "18",

doi = "10.1145/2702123.2702351",

language = "English (US)",

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Hanrahan, BV & Pérez-Quĩnones, MA 2015, Lost in email: Pulling users down a path of interaction. in CHI 2015 - Proceedings of the 33rd Annual CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems: Crossings. Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems - Proceedings, vol. 2015-April, Association for Computing Machinery, pp. 3981-3984, 33rd Annual CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, CHI 2015, Seoul, Korea, Republic of, 4/18/15. https://doi.org/10.1145/2702123.2702351

Lost in email: Pulling users down a path of interaction. / Hanrahan, Benjamin V.; Pérez-Quĩnones, Manuel A.
CHI 2015 - Proceedings of the 33rd Annual CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems: Crossings. Association for Computing Machinery, 2015. p. 3981-3984 (Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems - Proceedings; Vol. 2015-April).

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Conference contribution

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PY - 2015/4/18

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N2 - In this paper we describe a study exploring why users spend more time in email than originally intended, which we call getting lost in email. To study this phenomenon, we implemented an IMAP logger that also dispatched diary entries to collect data for twenty participants over a two week period. Most participants reported getting lost in email during both short and long sessions. Our analysis suggests two primary factors in getting lost: The number of emails awaiting a reply and whether or not the session caused an interruption. We conclude that much of the problem around getting lost in email is in managing the tension between promptly responding to messages while limiting engagement with email.

AB - In this paper we describe a study exploring why users spend more time in email than originally intended, which we call getting lost in email. To study this phenomenon, we implemented an IMAP logger that also dispatched diary entries to collect data for twenty participants over a two week period. Most participants reported getting lost in email during both short and long sessions. Our analysis suggests two primary factors in getting lost: The number of emails awaiting a reply and whether or not the session caused an interruption. We conclude that much of the problem around getting lost in email is in managing the tension between promptly responding to messages while limiting engagement with email.

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ER -

Lost in email: Pulling users down a path of interaction

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All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

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