Anxious and frustrated but still competent: Affective aspects of interactions with personal information management

In this study, we proposed and examined a theoretical framework for affective interactions with personal information management (PIM). Based on the literature, we identified seven salient affective aspects of PIM: anxiety, efficacy, frustration, desperation, belonging, dependence and loss of control. We examined their frequencies and identified individual differences for age, gender and the number of platforms people use to manage their personal information. Data were collected from 465 participants who filled in a questionnaire built and validated by the researchers. Findings revealed a complex and intense affective experience accompanying PIM that is characterized by anxiety and frustration on the one hand but by a sense of high efficacy and little desperation on the other. The affective experience was more intense for female participants, was correlated with the number of PIM platforms used and decreased with age. We offer various explanations of these findings and suggest implications for future research and platform design.