Notification Impact on User Autonomy

Jensen, Anders Jordan ; Thesbjerg, Asbjørn Windfeld ; Christiansen, Tilde Ankerstjerne

4. Term

Digitalisation and Application Development, MSc

2024

2024-06-14

38

Denne afhandling undersøger, hvordan smartphone-notifikationer påvirker brugerautonomi—følelsen af at have kontrol over egen opmærksomhed og handlinger—med afsæt i Aylsworth og Castro (2024) som teoretisk ramme. I et to-ugers forløb skiftede seks deltagere mellem perioder, hvor notifikationer var slået til og slået fra. Hver dag brugte de Day Reconstruction Method (DRM), en dag-for-dag-tilbagebliksmetode, og appen StayFree til at registrere deres brug og skrive dagbogsnoter om oplevelser med notifikationer. Afsluttende interviews gav yderligere indblik. På baggrund af disse data peger vi på konkrete designgreb: at etablere en notifikationsfri baseline (fx at ingen notifikationer er standard, med aktivt tilvalg) og at indføre bredere retningslinjer, der mindsker det individuelle ansvar. Teoretisk udfordrer vi fokus på 'eksterne begrænsninger' ved også at inddrage 'interne begrænsninger' i forståelsen af autonomi og dermed anerkende, hvordan brugere er i samspil med deres omgivelser.

This thesis examines how smartphone notifications affect user autonomy—people’s sense of control over their attention and actions—using Aylsworth and Castro (2024) as a guiding framework. Over two weeks, six participants alternated between periods with notifications turned on and off. Each day they used the Day Reconstruction Method (DRM), a daily recall approach, and the StayFree app to log their phone use and write diary reflections about notification experiences. End-of-study interviews provided additional insight. Based on these data, we propose practical design strategies: establishing a notification-free baseline (for example, making no notifications the default unless the user opts in) and adopting broader guidelines that reduce the burden on individual users. Conceptually, we challenge a narrow focus on 'external constraints' by also integrating 'internal constraints' into autonomy theory, acknowledging how users interact with and are shaped by their environment.

[This summary has been rewritten with the help of AI based on the project's original abstract]

Autonomi ; Notifikation ; DRM ; Dagbogsstudie ; Digitalisering ; Smartphone ; Forbrug ; HCI ; Skærmtid ; Non-use

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