Is the ambidextrous advantageous when using large touchscreens?

Abstract

Conducting touch gestures on large format touchscreens for personal computers (PCs) is known to cause greater body discomforts than that from using a traditional PC due to frequent hand movements in floating arm postures. It was of interest whether the discomforts would vary depending on user&apos;s handedness. The current study investigated potential associations between user&apos;s handedness and subjectively assessed discomforts during the use of a 23" touchscreen personal computer. Twenty two participants were grouped by their handedness (left-handed, ambidextrous, right-handed), and conducted a typical web browsing task for 30 minutes while their hand/arm movements and subjective body discomfort ratings were periodically collected. Results show that ambidextrous participants used both hands more evenly than the other two groups, and they also reported significantly less body discomforts (p<0.05) compared to the others. To reduce physical discomforts and prevent musculoskeletal problems associated with the extended use of touchscreens, alternating hands in conducting touch gestures could be recommended.