While we have all learned to depend on Zoom and other video conferencing platforms in order to continue both working and, in the case of children, leaning Stanford University Researchers have confirmed what we knew all along: that “video calls are likely tiring you out”. There are four factors that contribute to this state of fatigue. 1. Excessive amounts of close-up eye contact is highly intense (which is unnatural in presential meetings); 2. Seeing yourself during video chats constantly in real-time is fatiguing (and also unnatural); 3. Video chats dramatically reduce our usual mobility (one performs better cognitively when moving around); 4. The cognitive load is much higher in video chats (non-verbal communication is harder to show or interpret). Clearly the issues discussed in this article are relevant to online learning as professional meetings. As research becomes available on the subject tech companies (who design the apps) as well as schools (and teachers in particular who have to deliver the classes) will need to alter the platform, enable more flexibility and address some of these issues as the platforms are likely to remain important for us for some time to come.
news.stanford.edu/2021/02/23/four-causes-zoom-fatigue-solutions