Discovery vs browsing

Pagination is good when the user is searching for something in particular within the list of results, not just scanning and consuming the flow of information.

When the users know the number of results available they are able to make a more informed decision, rather than be left to scour an infinitely scrolling list. According to the David Kieras research Psychology in Human-Computer Interaction: “Reaching an end point provides a sense of control”. The research also clarifies that when users have limited but still relevant results, they are able to determine easily if what they’re seeking is actually there or not.

Also when users see total number of results (of course when a total amount of data isn’t infinite) they will be able to estimate how much time it’ll take to find what they’re actually looking for.

With the pattern load more, the user is not flooded with new data until the user explicitly asks for more data to consume. This pattern is also a better technical approach, because the data can be fetched in sets.