"I'm here to see nature, not spend more time on my phone!": A Study of Technological Obtrusiveness and How it is Managed in an Urban Nature Setting

Paper Title

"I'm here to see nature, not spend more time on my phone!": A Study of Technological Obtrusiveness and How it is Managed in an Urban Nature Setting

Publication Info

• Topic area: Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) in nature settings
• Keywords: technological obtrusiveness, urban nature, digital tools, augmented reality, photography, nature engagement, user agency, HCI design, unobtrusive interaction, visitor experience

Background and Problem

• Problem / challenge: Existing research on unobtrusive interaction in HCI lacks a detailed understanding of how technology becomes obtrusive in nature settings and how users manage such experiences. Prior studies have often focused on institutional or curated environments, leaving public and diverse urban nature spaces underexplored.
• Significance: Understanding technological obtrusiveness is critical for designing tools that enhance rather than detract from nature engagement, especially as digital technologies increasingly shape urban nature experiences.
• Motivation and related work: Prior studies have explored unobtrusive interaction in various domains, but few have examined its application in nature settings. Existing literature highlights issues like intrusiveness, distractions, and disruptions caused by technology in nature, but these observations have been tangential to central research questions. This study aims to fill this gap by examining obtrusiveness in a public urban nature park.

Solution

• Proposed approach: A field study investigating how 30 participants experienced and managed technological obtrusiveness while using a range of digital tools in an urban nature park.
• Novelty:
  1. Identification of seven facets of technological obtrusiveness: deprivation, prescriptiveness, engrossment, diminishment, neediness, unreliability, and awkwardness.
  2. Documentation of six tactics used to manage obtrusiveness: abstaining, limiting, minimizing, deferring, delegating, and conforming.
  3. Analysis of obtrusiveness as a constructed experience shaped by incongruities between user expectations and technology-prescribed activities, interactive intensity, and user agency.
  4. Implications for designing flexible, user-centered digital tools for nature engagement.
• Procedure and key techniques:
  1. Participants explored an urban nature park in three stages: no technology, commonplace technologies (e.g., photography, photo sharing, iNaturalist), and a place-specific AR walk.
  2. Observations and semi-structured interviews were conducted to capture participants’ experiences.
  3. Reflexive thematic analysis was used to identify themes related to obtrusiveness and management tactics.

Results

• Concrete findings:
  • Seven facets of obtrusiveness were identified:
    1. Deprivation: Discomfort from being unable to use technology.
    2. Prescriptiveness: Feeling forced into activities by technology.
    3. Engrossment: Regret over excessive focus on digital activities.
    4. Diminishment: Reduced sensory engagement with nature.
    5. Neediness: Excessive time and effort demanded by technology.
    6. Unreliability: Frustration with technological failures or inaccuracies.
    7. Awkwardness: Social or ergonomic discomfort caused by technology use.
  • Six tactics for managing obtrusiveness:
    1. Abstaining: Avoiding technology use entirely.
    2. Limiting: Reducing time spent on digital activities.
    3. Minimizing: Completing only essential digital tasks.
    4. Deferring: Postponing digital activities for later.
    5. Delegating: Assigning digital tasks to others.
    6. Conforming: Adapting behavior to align with technology’s requirements.
• Advantage over baselines: The study highlights the nuanced interplay between user preferences, technology design, and contextual factors, offering a richer understanding of obtrusiveness compared to prior work focused on single aspects of unobtrusive interaction.
• Experiments / evaluation:
  • Conducted with 30 participants (21 F, 8 M, 1 N/A) aged 20–40 years in an urban nature park.
  • Technologies tested: smartphone cameras, iNaturalist, and a place-specific AR walk.
  • Data collected through field observations and post-visit interviews.
• Limitations and future work:
  • Limited generalizability due to a sample skewed toward young adults in Australia.
  • Focused on photography-related tasks, excluding other common activities like music or web browsing.
  • Future work could explore obtrusiveness in different demographic groups, new digital interactions, and alternative sequencing of study conditions.

Summary

This study investigates how digital technologies become obtrusive in urban nature settings and how users manage such experiences. Seven facets of obtrusiveness and six management tactics were identified through a field study involving 30 participants using a range of digital tools. The findings reveal that obtrusiveness is a constructed experience influenced by user expectations, technology design, and agency to mitigate disruptions. The study offers actionable insights for designing flexible, user-centered digital tools that enhance nature engagement while minimizing obtrusiveness.