Small screen-big information challenge for older adults: a study on visual momentum and gesture navigation

Ziyao Zhou and Jia Zhou

Behaviour and Information Technology, 2023, vol. 42, issue 6, 744-757

Abstract: The explosion of information and the miniaturisation of mobile devices seems to be an oxymoron. A large amount of information means a wider information space, and a smaller screen means a more limited display capacity. ‘Small screen-big information’ can often be disorienting, especially for older adults. Treating it as navigation in information space, we explored solutions in terms of spatial cognition and gesture motor control. First, we introduce a concept from cognitive psychology, visual momentum (VM). In terms of gesture control, we propose the device-based method that differs from traditional touch-based methods. To test their roles, two experiments were conducted among 30 older adults and comparatively tested 30 younger adults. Experiment 1 examined the contribution of high VM and a device-based method. Experiment 2 further examined an important property of view translation, smoothness, in touch-based and device-based methods. Results show that increasing the VM by adding grids and using a device-based method can help users find targets faster and more accurately, which is particularly effective for the older group. Meanwhile, differences in navigation strategies between touch-based and device-based methods were proposed. Finally, the smoothness of a device-based method in visual information processing is also demonstrated.

Date: 2023
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
http://hdl.handle.net/10.1080/0144929X.2022.2042385 (text/html)
Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:taf:tbitxx:v:42:y:2023:i:6:p:744-757

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
http://www.tandfonline.com/pricing/journal/tbit20

DOI: 10.1080/0144929X.2022.2042385

Access Statistics for this article

Behaviour and Information Technology is currently edited by Dr Panos P Markopoulos

More articles in Behaviour and Information Technology from Taylor & Francis Journals
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Chris Longhurst ().