How to get tired of videoconferencing

Scientists have shared a valuable recipe that can reduce anxiety and fatigue during video conferencing.

Before the pandemic, videoconferencing was a small part of people’s lives. But when the coronavirus sent everyone home, sent schoolchildren to distance education, and office workers to work remotely, video conferencing applications became one of the main working tools of mankind.

As a result, a new problem suddenly emerged. It turned out that video conferencing is very tiring. For this, a new term was even coined — “Zoom-fatigue” (Zoom fatigue). We have previously told about the nature of this phenomenon and how it can be dealt with. But now scientists have looked deeper into the problem. Turns out the cameras are to blame.

Camera tired

Earlier this year, Jeremy Bailenson, founding director of the Virtual Interaction Lab at Stanford University, published a long article on Zoom fatigue and “non-verbal overload”. The scientist described four key factors that he believes may explain why video conferencing is so tiring for people. Some of these factors were explained by the fact that the user is constantly under the gun of the camera lens. Now a new study has tested Bailenson’s findings experimentally.

To study the effect of cameras on the emotional state of users, scientists from the University of Arizona conducted extensive research with the participation of 103 subjects. The study lasted four weeks. The subjects were divided into two approximately equal groups.

The first group had to turn off their webcams during daily video conferences for the first two weeks, and the second group had to keep their cameras on. The requirements for the second group were the opposite — in the first two weeks, the subjects had to communicate with the cameras turned on, in the second — with them turned off.

Every day, all subjects filled out a questionnaire, which noted their level of fatigue, involvement in the conference, and the duration of the call. The results were amazing.

Firstly, people with cameras on reported higher levels of fatigue. Secondly, people with cameras turned off were more productive and engaged in dialogue.

“When the cameras were on, the subjects reported more fatigue than their counterparts with the cameras off. The higher this fatigue was, the less active and involved the person was during the video conference. Thus, people with the cameras turned on participated in the dialogue less than people with the cameras turned off. This directly counters the conventional wisdom that cameras are required to get people involved.»says Alison Gabriel, a researcher at the University of Arizona and one of the authors of the study.

The fact that being “under the gun” of the camera can tire a person is not news. But the fact that a person becomes less productive from this is a truly important discovery that breaks many traditional ideas. After all, many managers still believe that their employee must show his face in order to be effective.

According to scientists, the effect of the camera affects women and beginners the most. Women are often concerned about their appearance, which is why the turned on camera puts a particularly strong emotional pressure on them. Beginners, on the other hand, feel that they have an obligation to actively flicker in front of the camera, proving their productivity. In fact, it only reduces productivity.

What to do?

The advice that scientists give is extremely simple. Allow people to turn off cameras during video conferences. Each person must decide for himself whether he wants to “shine” his face when calling. And if he doesn’t want to, he can’t be forced to do so. Coercion will only lead to the fact that a person will feel nervous and tired, and his productivity will decrease.

So if your boss or teacher stubbornly requires you to turn on the camera — do not hesitate to share this article and the findings of scientists with him.

The results of the study are published in the Journal of Applied Psychology (Journal of Applied Psychology).