Everyday appropriation of technology: experiences, challenges, and implications
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School of Science |
Doctoral thesis (article-based)
| Defence date: 2025-08-08
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en
Pages
97 + app. 123
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Aalto University publication series Doctoral Theses, 137/2025
Abstract
The mundane experience of using everyday technology provides a valuable window into how individuals make sense of, adapt to, and ultimately integrate digital tools into their daily lives. From checking messages first thing in the morning to relying on web browsers and AI apps for work and information, technology has become deeply embedded in daily routines. Yet, this integration is neither static nor uniform - it unfolds through a process of appropriation, shaped by individual needs, social contexts, and evolving technological affordances. This dissertation examines how people appropriate technologies in their daily lives, offering insights into the dynamic interplay between users and the different technological environments they navigate. The dissertation examines four contexts of technology use: managing information overload in web browsing, navigating privacy concerns in custom LLM-based apps, coordinating multiple communication apps, and integrating digital gaming within households. By exploring these contexts from various perspectives, this dissertation reveals that users consistently weigh the trade-offs between the benefits and costs of technology adoption and use. It identifies everyday challenges in technology usage, such as information overload, which is conceptualized as browsing clutter in the context of web browsing. When faced with stress or difficulties in using technology, users employ both problem-based and emotion-based coping strategies. While users adjust technology settings to better suit their needs, the technology itself also shapes user behavior—illustrating a co-adaptive relationship. Finally, based on these findings, the dissertation offers design recommendations aimed at improving user experiences, with a focus on clearer communication of design information, more space for individual sense-making, and practical guidance to support user activities.Description
Supervising professor
Lindqvist, Janne, Assoc. Prof., Aalto University, Department of Computer Science, FinlandOther note
Julkaisun ISBN-tunnuksessa on kirjoitusvirhe.
There is a typo in the ISBN of the publication.
There is a typo in the ISBN of the publication.
Parts
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[Publication 1]: Rongjun Ma, Henrik Lassila, Leysan Nurgalieva, Janne Lindqvist. When browsing gets cluttered: exploring and modeling interactions of browsing clutter, browsing habits, and coping. In Proceedings of the 2023 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, Hamburg, Germany, pp. 1-29, April 2023.
Full text in Acris/Aaltodoc: https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:aalto-202305082996DOI: 10.1145/3544548.3580690 View at publisher
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[Publication 2]: Rongjun Ma, Caterina Maidhof, Juan Carlos Carrillo, Janne Lindqvist, Jose Such. Privacy Perceptions of Custom GPTs by Users and Creators. In Proceedings of the 2025 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, Yokohama, Japan, pp. 1-18, April 2025.
Full text in Acris/Aaltodoc: https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:aalto-202506044226DOI: 10.1145/3706598.3713540 View at publisher
- [Publication 3]: Rongjun Ma, Feng Feng, Janne Lindqvist. Channel Switching and Adaptive Behaviors in Multichannel Communication. In [Accepted] ACM SIGCHI Conference 2025 on Computer-Supported Cooperative Work & Social Computing (CSCW), Bergen, Norway, October 2025.
- [Publication 4]: Heidi Rautalahti, Rongjun Ma, Amel Bourdoucen, Yajing Wang and Janne Lindqvist . Fluid Roles for Close-Knit Gaming – Households Playing Games. In [Accepted] The Annual Symposium on Computer-Human Interaction in Play (CHI PLAY), Pittsburgh, USA, October 2025.