Using Emotional Attachment as a Lens to Improve Users E-reading Experience

This paper explores ways to improve e-reading by examining theexperience of people who have developed a sense of attachment to their ereaders.Nine participants who reported experiencing emotional attachmentcompleted a semi-structured interview asking them about their experiences withe-readers and e-reading. Thematic analysis led to three main themes beingidentified as important to their experiences: projection of identity, control overthe device, and environmental factors. We examine how these themes suggestthat peoples experiences of reading in traditional and electronic formats areheavily interlinked. We also discuss how these themes resonate with the widerattachment literature. Based on our findings we suggest the need to support theexpression of identity through configuration and display in the e-readerexperience, as well as exploring ways devices can be used to control andpersonalize the reading environment.