Web browsing today: the impact of changing contexts on user activity

Although web browsing behaviour was studied in detail in the mid-to-late 1990s, few recent results have been reported. The nature of web browsing has changed significantly since these early studies, both in the profile of the typical web user and in the context of their browsing (e.g. location, connection speed, web browser features). This paper reports on per-session and per-browser window usage, such as the number of pages visited and the speed of browsing. Some of our findings differ from previously published results that continue to motivate research in this area. Our research indicates that changes in user behaviour, such as the magnitude of web browsing activity, may place restrictions on web-browser related applications. Author Keywords Web browsing behaviour; field study; client-side logging ACM Classification Keywords H.5.4 [Information Interfaces and Presentation] Hypertext/Hypermedia: Navigation; User Issues

• Type: Conference
• Year: 2005
• Where: CHI
• Authors: Kirstie Hawkey, Kori Inkpen
• Keywords: CHI 2005, Human Computer Interaction, Typical Web User, Web Browsing Activity, Web Browsing Behaviour