Gaps between actual and ideal personal information management behavior

• Published in: Computers in human behavior 2020-06, Vol.107, p.106292, Article 106292
• Main Authors: Alon, Lilach, Nachmias, Rafi
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Actual/ideal behavior; Personal information management; PIM behavior; PIM practices; PIM typology
• ISSN: 0747-5632; 1873-7692
• DOI: 10.1016/j.chb.2020.106292

Personal information management (PIM) on digital platforms requires multiple practices of saving, organizing and retrieving information. This exploratory study offers a new perspective on PIM practices and focuses on the gaps between their actual and ideal use. Data were collected from 465 participants, 114 males and 351 females, who filled in a questionnaire that we developed and validated for 25 PIM practices. Findings showed significant gaps between actual and ideal usage for 22 out of 25 practices. These gaps were mostly positive, revealing that participants wished to use more practices than they actually did and were not satisfied with their PIM behavior. They were larger for women, and we also found age differences. Larger gaps could be associated with negative feelings and a sense of low efficacy in managing personal information. We offer various explanations of the gaps and suggest implications for consumer training and platform design. •New perspective on gaps between actual and ideal PIM behavior.•Questionnaire including a set of 25 PIM practices built and validated.•Significant gaps are found between actual and ideal PIM use of PIM practices.•Gaps are larger for women and change with age.•Negative feelings caused by large gaps should be addressed in platform design.