Stanford study shows why Zoom Fatigue really is

COVID-19 pandemic has moved our lives into a virtual space. Why is it so exhausting?

The fatigue does not feel deserved. We do not fly a plane, do not teach toddlers or rescue people trapped in burning buildings. By the end of the day, the feeling is so universal that it has its own name: Zoom Fatigue.

Stanford University professor Jeremy Bailenson, founder of the Stanford Virtual Human Interaction Lab, has some answers. In research published in the journal on Tuesday Technology, mind and behavior, he describes the psychological impact of hours every day on Zoom, Google Hangouts, Skype, FaceTime or other video call interfaces. This is the first article judged by peers, which analyzes the exhaustion of the zoom from a psychological perspective.

According to Bailenson, there are four main reasons that video chat makes us so tired. And he suggests some easy solutions.

We are too close for convenience

Think of the normal meeting. You may be looking at the speaker. Or maybe you notice the flashy new window curtains, your colleague’s weekend tan or the traffic in the streets below.

But on Zoom calls, everyone is staring at everyone all the time. And our faces can appear too big.

When so many faces in real life are so close to ours, our subconscious takes it personally. It tells us: They want to either choose a fight or choose a partner. “What actually happens when you use Zoom for many, many hours is that you are in this hyper-excited state,” according to Bailenson.

Solution: Exit full screen to reduce face size. Use an external keyboard to create a comfortable space between you and the crowd.

We really hate to look at ourselves

For most of us, that quick morning look in the mirror is all we really need. After hours of self-examination, we become critical. We see the sloppy shaving. The overdue capsule. The dead plant over our left shoulder. Or maybe the light is wrong, casting deep shadows, and we look like a member of the witness protection program.

“It’s taxing us. It’s stressful, “said Bailenson. “There are negative emotional consequences when you see yourself in a mirror.”

Solution: Use the “hide self-image” button, which you can access by right-clicking on your own photo once your face is properly framed in the video.

We’re trapped in a chair

Humans are turbulent beings. During phone calls we like to wander around. Even if we get stuck during a meeting at a conference table, we find ways to stretch – lean back in a chair or look thoughtfully at the ceiling. But with video conferencing, we are limited by the camera’s narrow field of view.

It is physically and mentally dead. “There is now a growing body of research that says that when people move, they perform cognitively better,” Bailenson said.

Solution: With an external camera that is further away from the screen, you can scribble, release neck tension, a twist or turn, just like during real meetings. Disabling video during meetings from time to time is a good rule of thumb for fixing for groups, creating a short non-verbal rest.

We can not see body language, so more energy is needed to communicate

At their best, meetings can act like subtle symphonies, with everyone harmonizing their attitudes, laughter, and knowing glances. We read each other’s indications. Conversations have rhythm.

Not so with Zoom. There is a rigidity, with only one speaker at a time. We need to listen carefully to the completion of the sentence so that we do not interrupt. To make an important point, we need to add drama and flair.

“If you want to show someone that you agree with them, you have to do an exaggerated nod or thumbs up,” Bailenson said. “It adds cognitive load when you use mental calories to communicate.”