Philosophical meanderings on website usability
I am currently reading through on line resources regarding website usability for my Rhetoric of Digital design class tonight. The latest tidbit I read stated that all sentences should be 20 words or less and paragraphs no more than 5 sentences. Anything longer than this should be broken into a list.
Now, technically this makes sense. Reading off a computer monitor can be harder than reading off a page. Also, since people expect to get information quickly from a computer, they want their information now, and to be able to understand something by simply scanning it. Also, since most web sites are designed to "sell" something (information, a business itself, or products/services), people want to know they are in the right place at the right time.
However, aren't we just training people to expect to get their information now? We're reinforcing the belief that the internet equals instant information. We're providing easy access generally, so a more in-depth view of information is ignored, or even frowned upon.
I know that personally, if I find a longer web article or electronic document that I want to read, I'll likely print it out. If I want to spend that much time absorbing the information, I likely want to mark up the page, or be able to find sentences quickly for a paper so I highlight them, or I just like the information so much I want to put it into a more emotionally valued medium - paper. I can spend hours on the internet - but if I find something that takes me longer than a few moments to read, I'll start skimming it, and likely won't finish it unless it really captures my attention.
On the other hand, more people can access information if it's available in a quick-and-dirty format. If you don't have time to read that scientific article on the latest archaeological find in Egypt, you can read the point form highlights, and you can now talk about it to the next person who comes along.
I can see the need and logic behind making web sites and information easy to access. But I worry that we're being trained to skim information, and ignore anything we have to work for. I'm guilty of this too - if I can't find the information I'm looking for on a site within 30 seconds, I'm likely to leave and go on to the next site. I know there is in-depth information available out there. Hell, I have a lot of articles bookmarked for "later reading" that I never get back to.
I worry that we're trading accessibility for the ability to think and hunt for information. And I don't know if this is a good thing or not.
Now, technically this makes sense. Reading off a computer monitor can be harder than reading off a page. Also, since people expect to get information quickly from a computer, they want their information now, and to be able to understand something by simply scanning it. Also, since most web sites are designed to "sell" something (information, a business itself, or products/services), people want to know they are in the right place at the right time.
However, aren't we just training people to expect to get their information now? We're reinforcing the belief that the internet equals instant information. We're providing easy access generally, so a more in-depth view of information is ignored, or even frowned upon.
I know that personally, if I find a longer web article or electronic document that I want to read, I'll likely print it out. If I want to spend that much time absorbing the information, I likely want to mark up the page, or be able to find sentences quickly for a paper so I highlight them, or I just like the information so much I want to put it into a more emotionally valued medium - paper. I can spend hours on the internet - but if I find something that takes me longer than a few moments to read, I'll start skimming it, and likely won't finish it unless it really captures my attention.
On the other hand, more people can access information if it's available in a quick-and-dirty format. If you don't have time to read that scientific article on the latest archaeological find in Egypt, you can read the point form highlights, and you can now talk about it to the next person who comes along.
I can see the need and logic behind making web sites and information easy to access. But I worry that we're being trained to skim information, and ignore anything we have to work for. I'm guilty of this too - if I can't find the information I'm looking for on a site within 30 seconds, I'm likely to leave and go on to the next site. I know there is in-depth information available out there. Hell, I have a lot of articles bookmarked for "later reading" that I never get back to.
I worry that we're trading accessibility for the ability to think and hunt for information. And I don't know if this is a good thing or not.