The zeitgeist has changed a lot since March 2020, the month when many started to understand the concept of lockdown. Phrases such as social detachment and flattening of the curve have evolved from abstract concepts to lived philosophies. Today, even the word pandemic is undergoing a change, with the adoption of Generation Z of ‘panorama’ and ‘panini’ as alternatives to calm the brain.
Another entry in this glossary Zoom fatigue, a phrase of debatable origin to describe a feeling of exhaustion stimulated by the use of the videoconference platform, Zoom.
Jeremy Bailenson, professor of communication at Stanford University, told me that he had an “a-ha moment” a week during the shelter period there (another new phrase that became a worldly descriptor) last March, when he was talking to a BBC reporter. She asked for a quote, scheduled a call from Zoom and, in 10 minutes, he “realized there was no reason to use the video”.
He wrote an opinion article that was published a few days later in Wall Street Journal. In the article, he describes a state of exhaustion caused by videoconferencing and “non-verbal overload”.
This week, Bailenson published the first peer-reviewed article deconstructing Zoom’s fatigue from a psychological perspective. In it, he discusses the four main reasons video calls can exhaust you:
- There is an excessive amount of intense and prolonged eye contact.
- It is tiring to see each other for so long.
- Video calls prevent us from moving.
- Video calls require a heavy cognitive load.
Why there is Zoom fatigue – and what to do about it
Bailenson knows how it is. He was hit by Zoom’s fatigue – especially at the beginning of the pandemic. Since then, its “various working groups have evolved to develop standards for keeping the video off during most of our calls.”
Various aspects of the Zoom interface can lead to psychological consequences, he explains. Critically, the observations and analyzes up to this point are based on academic theory and research – not on a study of Zoom users, although that is what he is currently working on with collaborators. Zoom is the focus of your article because of its ubiquity: it is not the only offender, but it is the best known.
And like most technologies that are criticized, whether text messages or video games, it’s not the platform itself that causes harm – it’s how we use it and the cultural contexts that drive its use. The Zoom interface can be improved, but we also have the freedom to make the experience better.
Bailenson writes that the four possible explanations for zoom fatigue are “excessive amounts of looking closely, cognitive load, increased self-assessment when watching a video of yourself and restrictions on physical mobility”.
Considering these drivers, he tells me that the first step that you can use to combat zoom fatigue is to right-click on the video andselect hide own view. “When you do this, meeting members will be able to see you, but you will no longer see your video.
“It will take a few days to get used to it – we’ve all gotten used to checking and balancing non-verbal feedback in real time – but you’ll feel better over time,” says Bailenson.
This advice is a response to the idea that watching yourself during video chats is tiring. Previous studies suggest that seeing a reflection of yourself makes you more critical of yourself, explains Bailenson. The mirrored nature of Zoom simulates a similar experience and, in turn, can cause negative emotional consequences.
“It will take a few days to get used to it … but you will feel better over time. “
The level of eye contact via zoom and the size of the faces on our screens, in turn, triggers the brain to see the video call as an intense situation – putting you in a state of hyperexcitation. To combat this, Bailenson recommends zooming out of the full-screen option and using an external keyboard to increase the distance between you and the screen.
He also recommends choosing to periodically do audio-only zoom meetings as a way to move around during calls and decrease the cognitive load being viewed. Videoconferencing, argues Bailenson, transforms nonverbal communication. Natural reactions and suggestions become more performative and stressful – being observed and observing yourself leads to overthinking and expending “mental calories”
What comes next – Although anyone can follow the steps recommended by Bailenson, he is also in the workplace to create friendly settings for adjustments.
“Remember that bosses can choose how often they want to zoom in or out, and whether the video is on or off,” says Bailenson.
“Employees don’t have the same luxury and are often forced to spend time in the spotlight. As a manager, I didn’t realize this until my colleagues made it clear to me. “
It remains to be seen whether Zoom and the resulting fatigue from Zoom will be as ubiquitous as they are today in March. In December, Zoom had an average of 350 million participants in daily meetings – in December 2019, that number was close to 10 million. But its stock also fell after news of the effectiveness of the Pfizer vaccine. The future is likely that we can choose to use Zoom, but we won’t have to.
Bailenson is still curious about how Zoom fatigue affects individuals in different ways. For example, he says “there are reasons to predict Zoom fatigue will be worse for women than men. “
And we still don’t know if there will be any long-term consequences that accompany the positive platforms like Zoom allowed. Despite all the fatigue, we were also able to have Zoom birthdays, bar or bat mitzvahs and weddings in a year when personal meetings were often not an option. Zoom squares are usually filled with faces you like in the real world – but it is normal to sometimes take a break.