Weathering the digital shift: how interaction spaces and weather conditions shape mobile app engagement
Yiling Li et al.
What the paper says
Purpose As mobile services become increasingly embedded in everyday life, understanding how external environmental factors influence user engagement has become increasingly important. This study aims to focus on how interaction spaces and weather conditions shape mobile user engagement with activity-tracking applications. It addresses gaps in the literature on environmental influences beyond individual-level factors in mobile app usage. Design/methodology/approach This study integrates behavioral data from a physical activity-tracking application with public datasets from the Public Data Portal of the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, the Korea Meteorological Administration and the Korean Statistical Information Service. We develop empirical models to examine the influence of interaction spaces – categorized as recreational spaces, functional spaces and community spaces – and weather conditions – including heatwaves, heavy rain and strong winds – on mobile app engagement, focusing on two key outcomes: usage frequency and session duration. Findings The results show that recreational and community spaces extend session duration but do not significantly affect usage frequency. In contrast, functional spaces enhance usage frequency without affecting session duration. Weather conditions exhibit asymmetric effects: heatwaves shorten session durations, while heavy rain reduces both usage frequency and session duration. Originality/value This study contributes to the literature by demonstrating the importance of environmental contexts in shaping mobile user engagement patterns. It extends research beyond device- or user-centric perspectives and offers practical insights for app developers seeking to optimize user experience through enhanced environmental and situational awareness.
Evidence weight
Balanced mode · F 0.40 / M 0.15 / V 0.05 / R 0.40
| F · citation impact | 0.50 × 0.4 = 0.20 |
| M · momentum | 0.50 × 0.15 = 0.07 |
| V · venue signal | 0.50 × 0.05 = 0.03 |
| R · text relevance † | 0.50 × 0.4 = 0.20 |
† Text relevance is estimated at 0.50 on the detail page — for your query’s actual relevance score, open this paper from a search result.