A method and system for visually altering characteristics of an iconic representation in response to a user's interaction with an object within a data processing system. The user initially associates an iconic representation for each object and selects the information to be monitored for each object. Parameters which may be monitored include the number of times the user interacts with the object, the amount of time the user spent interacting with the object, or the passage of time. This information is then stored in a database. The user's interaction with each object is then monitored, and the visual characteristics of the iconic representations associated with each object are then altered in response to the user's interaction with each object.