H/T to Alexander Besant, Senior News Editor at LinkedIn [who shared this](https://www.linkedin.com/news/story/why-zoom-is-zapping-our-energy-5480114/) via [Nicholas Thompson, CEO at The Atlantic](https://www.linkedin.com/posts/nicholasxthompson_mostinterestingthingintech-activity-6813161953696067584-hgCn)
(Feb 23, 2021; APA Open | Technology, Mind, and Behavior)
For decades, scholars have predicted that videoconference technology will disrupt the practice of commuting daily to and from work and will change the way people socialize. In 2020, the Covid-19 pandemic forced a drastic increase in the number of videoconference meetings, and Zoom became the leading software package because it was free, robust, and easy to use. While the software has been an essential tool for productivity, learning, and social interaction, something about being on videoconference all day seems particularly exhausting, and the term “Zoom Fatigue” caught on quickly. In this article, [Jeremy N. Bailenson focuses on] on nonverbal overload as a potential cause for fatigue, and provide four arguments outlining how various aspects of the current Zoom interface likely lead to psychological consequences. The arguments are based on academic theory and research, but also have yet to be directly tested in the context of Zoom, and require future experimentation to confirm. Instead of indicting the medium, [the] goal is to point out these design flaws to isolate research areas for social scientists and to suggest design improvements for technologists.
The author indicates these four(4) areas that contribute to fatigue:
- Eye Gaze at a Close Distance
- Cognitive Load
- An All Day Mirror
- Reduced Mobility
Read the rest from APA Open | Technology, Mind, and Behavior: Nonverbal Overload: A Theoretical Argument for the Causes of Zoom Fatigue
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I was thinking the same thing about cameras when I read the post. It seems like a lot of the fatigue issues have to do with being too "present". In a days-long conference setting, I think I'd feel the same amount of extra energy loss as video conferences. Even "cognitive load" and "reduced mobility" could be managed better with your camera off in a video conference. When I have my camera off, I am more free to zone out, fidget, and do a number of things I could do in a conference room that I might not feel comfortable doing with my camera on in a video conference.
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I don't really see it as a big deal because fatigue has always been existent, whether the class is being held online or in-person. But, I do think online tutors should provide few minutes of break for students to re-energize.
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Yes.
And taking breaks is something that needs to be built in during a school day or work day whether in person or remotely distributed as well. Even when I was working in an office, my colleagues and I would often get up to stretch, and move our bodies. And we tried to schedule walking meetings so we could move around outside when we were meeting, too.
It's difficult to make time to take breaks in either situation, but I think it's a little more of a bother in a video conference because teach issues will tend to draw things out, and interrupt as well, which means it's more difficult to take advantage of the time you have dedicated to a meeting or class.
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Some commenters make the point that missing out on time in between meetings is a more likely culprit than the four nonverbal aspects specific to Zoom meetings.
What do you think? Would back to back meetings in person be any less exhausting that back to back videoconferencing?
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The older I get, the better I understand the relationship between eye fatigue and actual fatigue. Just being able to take the glasses off for a few minutes makes a big difference. That's got nothing to do with Zoom calls, though. Same thing happens when writing code or working on Office docs.
Overall, I don't really find that Zoom meetings are any more fatiguing than regular meetings. Another factor might be whether we have our cameras turned on or not. I usually (almost always) do not.
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And this is something experts had already been telling people to account for. Long before video conferencing was common, I learned that you need to take a few minutes now and then just to allow your eyes to focus far away. For me personally, I think focusing on something up close might be the largest contributing factor to fatigue in a work or class situation.
I think it's certainly true that things change if you don't have your camera on! According to the OP, presenting yourself to others plays a significant role in fatigue, and if your camera is off, you can relax a little bit!
Another thing I found helpful, both in the office and on video conference from home is finding different places to work; 1) that gets you moving, if only just to get from one place to the next in between sessions or meetings, 2) a change in posture now and then can be good for your body, and 3) it's been helpful in both situations to manage interruptions (which might add to my fatigue if I have to work to get back into a flow state again and again).
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Unfortunately, the desire to find different places to work is at somewhat at odds with the desire to manage interruptions, so the two need to be balanced. I generally take all calls in my office so I can close the door and minimize distractions, but I have coworkers who like to recharge by taking some of their calls outside.
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Ah. I was thinking about when I was at a co-working space, and we had designated quite areas in the main shared spaces, and designated places to have meetings / calls away from your desk. I can see how it could be problematic when different people are trying to use the same space for different purposes.
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Ha! Yeah, I was thinking of WFH. There's always traffic in other rooms...
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exactly..some students even mute their mic and webcams, and go ahead to play video games while classes are being held. They later play recordings of the meeting for revision. So I think the zoom fatigue theory is been blown out of proportion. Fatigue has been with us since the beginning of the world.
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That sounds like the way I "attend" webinars. I always appreciate the fact that a recording will be sent later. I like to watch videos at 2x speed, so that works well for me.
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