TY - GEN
T1 - Mitigating Interruptions in Digital Reading
T2 - 20th IFIP TC 13 International Conference on Human-Computer Interaction, INTERACT 2025
AU - Hacioglu, Naile
AU - Leva, Maria Chiara
AU - Kim, Nakyung
AU - Lee, Hyowon
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© IFIP International Federation for Information Processing 2026.
PY - 2026
Y1 - 2026
N2 - This study investigates how structured interventions—specifically pausing at natural breakpoints and guided note-taking—affect cognitive performance, memory retention, and task continuity in digital reading. We introduce SmartPause, a context-aware bookmarking system that nudges users to pause at meaningful points and externalise insights through lightweight notes. In a controlled experiment (N = 51), participants were assigned to one of three conditions: (1) interruption at an arbitrary point, (2) guided pause at a natural breakpoint, or (3) guided pause with note-taking. Results reveal that guided pauses, particularly when combined with note-taking, significantly enhance long-term memory retention while having no measurable impact on perceived cognitive load or selective attention. These findings highlight the potential of digital tools to support cognitive load management and task continuity by structuring interruptions in alignment with natural cognitive rhythms. The high usability rating of SmartPause underscores its practical applicability across e-reading platforms. This study contributes to human-computer interaction (HCI) by integrating principles from cognitive science into design solutions that enhance comprehension and information retention. Future research should explore personalised interventions, extended retention intervals, and real-world deployment to further optimise cognitive load in digital reading contexts.
AB - This study investigates how structured interventions—specifically pausing at natural breakpoints and guided note-taking—affect cognitive performance, memory retention, and task continuity in digital reading. We introduce SmartPause, a context-aware bookmarking system that nudges users to pause at meaningful points and externalise insights through lightweight notes. In a controlled experiment (N = 51), participants were assigned to one of three conditions: (1) interruption at an arbitrary point, (2) guided pause at a natural breakpoint, or (3) guided pause with note-taking. Results reveal that guided pauses, particularly when combined with note-taking, significantly enhance long-term memory retention while having no measurable impact on perceived cognitive load or selective attention. These findings highlight the potential of digital tools to support cognitive load management and task continuity by structuring interruptions in alignment with natural cognitive rhythms. The high usability rating of SmartPause underscores its practical applicability across e-reading platforms. This study contributes to human-computer interaction (HCI) by integrating principles from cognitive science into design solutions that enhance comprehension and information retention. Future research should explore personalised interventions, extended retention intervals, and real-world deployment to further optimise cognitive load in digital reading contexts.
KW - Cognitive Load Management
KW - Digital Reading
KW - Human-Computer Interaction
KW - Interruption Design
KW - Memory Retention
KW - Note-taking
KW - Strategic Pausing
UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/105016597719
U2 - 10.1007/978-3-032-05002-1_6
DO - 10.1007/978-3-032-05002-1_6
M3 - Conference contribution
AN - SCOPUS:105016597719
SN - 9783032050014
T3 - Lecture Notes in Computer Science
SP - 109
EP - 132
BT - Human-Computer Interaction – INTERACT 2025 - 20th IFIP TC 13 International Conference, Proceedings
A2 - Ardito, Carmelo
A2 - Diniz Junqueira Barbosa, Simone
A2 - Conte, Tayana
A2 - Freire, André
A2 - Gasparini, Isabela
A2 - Palanque, Philippe
A2 - Prates, Raquel
PB - Springer Science and Business Media Deutschland GmbH
Y2 - 8 September 2025 through 12 September 2025
ER -