Reducing Information Overload through Appropriate Media Choice

摘要

Information overload is a multidimensional problem experienced by all knowledge workers resulting in a negative impact on personal productivity, one major dimension being the overuse of email in organizational contexts. The aim of this research in progress paper is to reduce the impact of perceived information overload and thereby increase the productivity of Australian knowledge workers. This will be achieved by matching the affordances of instant messaging and email to communication tasks ensuring an appropriate fit between media, task and context. A contextual approach is proposed to consider the affordances of both email and instant messaging, followed by a research model to test the hypothesis that appropriate use of instant message will reduce perceived information overload.