The research and fascinating facts behind ‘Zoom fatigue’ and how to avoid it

Virgin Radio

4 Mar 2021, 13:03

Is the thought of another Zoom sending you off to Zzzz? You're not alone. Zooming aka videoconferencing with friends, family and colleagues can be exhausting and you may feel like switching off before you've even switched on. But good news - there are reasons why we're all so tired of communicating behind the screen. 

Stanford researchers have warned that video calls are zapping our Zoom/insert other platform energy. Professor Jeremy Bailenson, founding director of the Stanford Virtual Human Interaction Lab (VHIL), examined what's going on in our brains after hundreds of millions of people are spending hours 'videoconferencing' every day - some all day.

Published in the journal Technology, Mind and Behavior, Bailenson has identified four areas contributing to video chat hangovers and it's known as “Zoom fatigue" although he stresses Zoom isn't the baddie in all this - it's across the board.

Professor Bailenson said: “Videoconferencing is a good thing for remote communication, but just think about the medium – just because you can use video doesn’t mean you have to."  

Here's what to do about it:  

1. Excessive close-up eye contact is highly intense

Our poor eyes don't like it. Simple - and the size of faces on screen are unnatural. In a normal office, people look elsewhere and give their eyes a break from being fixed on one thing. No chance of that on a work call, is there?

On videoconferencing calls there's no escape and the listener is 'treated nonverbally like a speaker.' All eyes are on you - all the time. No wonder it's exhausting.

“Social anxiety of public speaking is one of the biggest phobias that exists in our population,” Bailenson said. “When you’re standing up there and everybody’s staring at you, that’s a stressful experience.

“In general, for most setups, if it’s a one-on-one conversation when you’re with coworkers or even strangers on video, you’re seeing their face at a size which simulates a personal space that you normally experience when you’re with somebody intimately.

“What’s happening, in effect, when you’re using Zoom for many, many hours is you’re in this hyper-aroused state."

Solution: Bailenson recommends not using the full-screen option and to minimise face sizes to increase the personal space between you and the screen.

2. Seeing yourself onscreen is tiring

Bailenson said: “In the real world, if somebody was following you around with a mirror constantly – so that while you were talking to people, making decisions, giving feedback, getting feedback – you were seeing yourself in a mirror, that would just be crazy. No one would ever consider that.

“It’s taxing on us. It’s stressful and there’s lots of research showing that there are negative emotional consequences to seeing yourself in a mirror.” We concur. 

Solution: Try the “hide self-view” button by right-clicking your own photo.

3. Video chats reduce our mobility

Humans are supposed to walk, talk and move around, but with videoconferencing you are glued to the same spot for hours.

Limited movement is unnatural and tiring. “There’s a growing research now that says when people are moving, they’re performing better cognitively,” Bailenson said.

Solution: Consider the room you're in and if an external keyboard can give you more space. An external camera will let you walk up and down, and stretch your legs as if you were in an office.

Turning your video off during meetings 'is a good ground rule to set for groups, just to give oneself a brief nonverbal rest' Bailenson suggested.

4. The cognitive load is huge in video chats

In real life, nonverbal communication like nodding and small gestures are easy and natural, but in video chats we have to work harder to send and receive signals.

Bailenson said: “You’ve got to make sure that your head is framed within the center of the video. If you want to show someone that you are agreeing with them, you have to do an exaggerated nod or put your thumbs up. That adds cognitive load as you’re using mental calories in order to communicate.”

Solution: Give yourself an “audio only” break in meetings. Bailenson suggested: “This is not simply you turning off your camera to take a break from having to be nonverbally active, but also turning your body away from the screen so that for a few minutes you are not smothered with gestures that are perceptually realistic but socially meaningless.”