Why is the scroll bar in Windows 11 so narrow? In what world is this an improvement?

The "improvement" is that in Windows 11, you don't have to put the mouse pointer on a scroll bar in order to scroll an app. Just rest the mouse pointer anywhere on the window, and scroll the scroll wheel.

This is particularly handy when you are working with two (or more) open windows. Just move the mouse pointer onto another window and scroll that window with the scroll wheel. No need to hunt for a scroll bar.

I think what we are saying is PLEASE can we change the scroll bar attributes easily

Thanks, I am struggling with ALS (Lou Gehrig's) and using head-tracking mouse. I feel helpless regarding the neglect of the Accessibility features of Windows. This is a proof of that Microsoft doesn't care about the people with disabilities.

The argument about not needing the scrollbar because there is a scroll wheel is just nonsense. I find myself using the scrollbar all the time, because it's just much less effort than using the wheel. When dealing with a large view, there's no other practical way to move around quickly, other than to the very beginning or end.

This decision is from the same top-down designer-led school of thought as electronic parking brakes.

Some people, like me, find that using the scroll wheel hurts the tip of our fingers, so some of us won't find this feature helpful.

The problem with Microsoft making big changes like this is that people get used to a certain way of working and then Microsoft makes all kinds of UI changes and we have to spend weeks reorienting ourselves to new ways of doing things. Can't you add options for feature changes without actually getting rid of the feature as it currently is? The scroll bars could have remained wider and then people could be offered the option to make them thinner.

And, I have to tell you that from what I have experienced Windows 11 is most definitely NOT an improvement over Windows 10. I have run into far too many problems with this new O/S. Putting aside all of the UI changes and things missing from menus and the Apple-style of showing icons only without names -- my major reason for never having purchased an Apple product -- since Windows 11 was forced onto my computer I have had to deal with periodic rejection of my charger; constant freezing of Explorer; having apps open, but their windows small, then not becoming large again when I click on their icons on the taskbar,forcing me to close the apps and reopen them to get the windows large; having Word files suddenly hide my taskbar for no apparent reason in the middle of working with them; and many other problems.

In the past I would always recommend Windows as an operating system to anyone first purchasing a computer, but now I'm tempted to just tell people to look for some sort of Linux platform to avoid the problems of Windows 11 and the ridiculous changes forced on us by Microsoft.