Why we use and abandon smart devices

TLDR

Smart devices are increasingly available, yet adoption remains slow and abandonment rapid, suggesting they may not meet user needs. The study seeks to understand how users benefit from, are challenged by, and abandon smart devices by having participants purchase devices to pursue personal goals. Participants were asked to buy smart sensing devices and use them to achieve self‑defined objectives, enabling observation of usage patterns, challenges, and abandonment. Users abandoned devices when they conflicted with self‑concepts, data were deemed useless, and maintenance was burdensome, but continued use when routines were established, devices were useful, satisfied curiosity, and promised potential benefits.

Abstract

Smart devices are becoming increasingly commercially available. However, uptake of these devices has been slow and abandonment swift, which indicates that smart devices may not currently meet the needs of users. To advance an understanding of the ways users benefit from, are challenged by, and abandon smart devices, we asked a group of users to purchase smart sensing devices to advance themselves towards a personal, self-defined goal. We found that participants abandoned devices because they did not fit with the their conceptions of themselves, the data collected by devices were perceived to not be useful, and device maintenance became unmanageable. Participants used devices because they had developed routines and because devices were useful, satisfied curiosity, and held hope for potential benefit to them. We propose ways to reduce barriers, motivate use, and argue for envisioning an additional function of these devices for short-term interventions, in addition to standard long-term use.