There seems to be a scientific reason why you hate Zoom
We are a year into the pandemic, almost a year of family celebrations that have been canceled or seriously altered, and we are wearing masks until further notice. While the vaccine is spreading all over the country, we are still socially removed, so things are definitely not going as usual. Which means Zoom meetings are here to stay. This is a year in which other participants have been asked to mute themselves or mute themselves. A year of more information about our colleagues decorating preferences than we ever thought. And we’re sick of it. And according to a new study, there is actually a good scientific reason (actually four) why you are absolutely not that good.
everything runs smoothly until someone asks you to mute your zoom: pic.twitter.com/NxE7KtRpGO
– DIVE Studios (@thedivestudios) 27 February 2021
Jeremy Bailenson of the Stanford Virtual Human Interaction Lab recently published a study on the spiritual impact of hours a day on Zoom and other popular video chat platforms.
The result: four problems that, according to Bailenson, stem from a year of video calling. Or what we usually call ‘Zoom fatigue’.
Four reasons why you hate Zoom
Problem: Extreme amounts of eye contact are intense.
The amount of eye contact we make on video calls, as well as the size of the faces on monitors, is abnormal. In a typical conference, people will look around the room. But on Zoom calls, everyone looks at everyone – all the time. Listeners become speakers because people stare at you, even when you are not talking.
Solution: Bailenson recommends disabling Zoom from the full screen option and reducing the size of the Zoom window. He also suggests that you use an external keyboard to increase the personal space bubble between you and the grid.
Problem: Prolonged episodes of watching yourself on video are tired.
Most video platforms display a square of the appearance of your camera during a discussion. But it’s unnatural, Bailenson said. ‘If someone was constantly chasing you with a mirror – so you would see yourself in a mirror while talking to people, making decisions, giving feedback, getting feedback, then it would just be crazy. Nobody will ever consider it, “he added.
The breach is shocking and relentless – and it can reach our voices, as one Twitter user remarked.
My video on My voice on
zoom zoom pic.twitter.com/VvhZfRC55L– lune ❦ (@lunebat) 27 February 2021
Solution: Bailenson suggests that video conferencing platforms change the standard practice of streaming video to both presenters and viewers, while only being sent to viewers. Providers can use the “hide self-image” button, which you can do by right-clicking on your own photo.
Problem: Video chats significantly reduce our mobility.
Personal and phone conversations allow people to move. But with Zoom, most people have to stay in the same place or the camera focus is thrown off. This means that your movement is restricted in ways that do not feel natural.
Solution: Bailenson recommends that people consider the room in which they chat. If you sit away from the screen, you can walk and doodle in virtual conversations, just as we do in face-to-face meetings. You can also turn off the video every now and then – it gives you a short non-verbal rest.
Problem: the cognitive load is much higher in video chat.
Bailenson notes that nonverbal communication in typical interaction is inherent in nature. But in video calls, we work harder to transmit and receive signals. The study states that gestures can mean different things in a video context. A sideways glance at someone during a personal meeting means something completely different than an individual on a chat network looking outside the screen at their dog who has just started scratching at the door.
We can all relate – it’s exhausting to constantly look and think about non-verbal communication.
I think I had one too many #zoom call this week. pic.twitter.com/X2FTXSkBMa
– Kristin Kisska, author (@KKMHOO) 27 February 2021
Solution: during long meetings, make sure you give a ‘sound-only’ pause. “It’s not only that you turn off your camera to take a breather so as not to be verbally active, but also to turn your body off the screen,” Bailenson said, “so that you do not for a few minutes suffocated with gestures that are perceptually realistic but socially meaningless. ”
Bailenson continues his research on video exhaustion. If you are interested in measuring your own Zoom fatigue, you can take the survey here and participate in the research project.
What do you say? Do you experience Zoom fatigue?