Information experience in personally meaningful activities

Abstract

Information behavior in activities that are freely chosen has been little explored. This article conceptualizes personally meaningful activities as a site for information behavior research. Personal meaning is discussed as a necessity for human beings. In the information age, there is an ethical directive for developers of information technology to promote and afford personally meaningful activities. This article builds on discussions of the pleasurable and profound in information science conceptually and empirically. First, it argues for the necessity of phenomenology in these discussions, which heretofore has been mostly absent. Next, it presents results from a qualitative, empirical study on information in personally meaningful activities. The empirical study uses interpretative phenomenological analysis to examine information experience in three domains of personal meaning: Bible reading, ultramarathon running, and art-making. The following themes emerge and are discussed: identity, central practice, curiosity, and presence. Opportunities for technological development and further research are outlined.