Summary: The internet is increasingly used to gain knowledge and understanding of a topic. This knowledge is often acquired accidentally, as a byproduct of browsing. Critical internet use is becoming social.
The web has changed dramatically over the last two decades. To understand how user behavior has been affected by these changes, we replicated a 1997 study conducted at Xerox PARC. We asked people to describe a situation where online information significantly impacted their decisions or actions .
We found that, compared to 22 years ago, a larger proportion of current critical internet activities involved finding answers and gathering information in order to better understand a topic. A fair amount of information was acquired in a passive way, without looking for it, during browsing. And often, during critical activities, users turned to other people, asking for their help or opinion.
Methodology
In 1997, Julie Morrison, Peter Pirolli, and Stuart Card conducted a large-scale survey with 3,292 respondents in which they asked people to answer a single question:
from NN/g latest articles and announcements https://www.nngroup.com/articles/information-seeking-behavior-changes/