TORONTO -- An influx of virtual meetings might not be the only factor causing 鈥淶oom fatigue鈥� in potentially millions of people during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The very design of video-conferencing apps could be wiping you out too, according to a group of U.S. researchers.
Technology like Zoom -- which surged from 10 million users to more than 300 million in a matter of months last year -- places physical restraints on users, requires more cognitive labour, can amount to an 鈥渁ll-day mirror,鈥� and forces everyone to stare at each other.
The compounding physiological effects of those factors can be exhausting, said researchers with Stanford University in California, who have launched a .
鈥淶oom鈥檚 interface design constantly beams faces to everyone, regardless of who is speaking,鈥� writes Jeremy N. Bailenson, a Stanford University communications professor, in a new article published in the journal .
鈥淔rom a perceptual standpoint, Zoom effectively transforms listeners into speakers and smothers everyone with eye gaze.鈥�
THE 鈥楨YE-GAZE DANCE鈥�
In a typical environment, people don鈥檛 stare into each other鈥檚 eyes for that long. Think of an elevator or an Uber ride. We have developed social norms that make it OK to avert your gaze for an extended period of time.
In a meeting environment, people tend to use eye contact sparingly, said Jeff Hancock, the founding director of the Stanford Social Media Lab.
鈥淐onversation is really like an eye-gaze dance,鈥� he told CTVNews.ca over Zoom on Wednesday. People often make eye contact, acknowledge the connection, look away, and return again at different intervals, partly because being stared at causes and awakens the nervous system.
THE 鈥楢LL-DAY MIRROR鈥�
Video-conferencing apps also require an increased 鈥渃ognitive load,鈥� meaning users send and receive more cues than in normal settings, including the need to frame yourself in the camera, considering the volume of one鈥檚 voice, and offering more physical reactions like nodding to a speaker.
While they may require more physical considerations, Zoom meetings also require less of us physically, and can feel restraining, researchers said. There鈥檚 no pacing around a room, water cooler breaks, or other movements that research has shown can cause better performance in meetings. Instead, we鈥檙e stuck to the viewing 鈥渇rustum,鈥� the specific space in which the webcam frames the user.
Perhaps one of the bigger strains for some video-conferencing app users is what the Stanford researchers called a kind of 鈥渁ll-day mirror.鈥� The default setting on video apps like Zoom is to show the user a view of their own camera. Seeing the self can have positive outcomes, said Hancock, noting a study where researchers put a mirror in front of a candy bowl and found people took more candy when there was no mirror.
鈥淪ometimes being reminded of who we are and what we鈥檙e trying to be -- a good human -- that can be valuable. But over time, if we鈥檙e just constantly looking in the mirror then that can lead to questions of 鈥業 don鈥檛 look the way I want to look,鈥� 鈥業鈥檓 not who I want to be.鈥� It reminds us that we鈥檙e not that ideal version,鈥� said Hancock.
REDUCING FATIGUE
There are some built-in strategies that video conferencing users can use to reduce the impact of Zoom fatigue, the researchers said, like the 鈥淗ide self view鈥� button to avoid the 鈥渁ll-day mirror鈥� effect. The researchers also recommend using an external webcam and keyboard to allow for more space from the screen and to vary your seating arrangement. They also suggest making use of the audio-only function on the apps, or simply picking up the phone when video isn鈥檛 necessary.
鈥淧hone calls have driven productivity and social connection for many decades, and only a minority of calls require staring at another person鈥檚 face to successfully communicate,鈥� wrote Bailenson.
As part of the new online study, Bailenson and Hancock鈥檚 team have developed a new framework to measure Zoom fatigue in hopes that they can determine if any of these strategies improve user reporting of Zoom fatigue.
