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by Paul LevyAnd the University of Brighton
Just like other brand names are making their way In the dictionary, Zoom has become a daily verb and a noun. We zoom in on each other, we say “get enlarged,” we get that Zoom fatigue. Now there’s also Zoom burnout – a phrase that encompasses a lot more than Eye strain Too much time looking at the screen.
Emerging research shows that we accomplish little and may end up unnecessarily Repeat the connection In our personal and professional lives. a New study It highlights the causes of this fatigue and how to deal with it.
Zooming in / out too much can get mentally demanding. There is a lot of evidence that when people are mentally tired, they tend to be It acts less efficiently. Sustainable performance on a mentally demanding task It decreases over time.
Also, when we get tired, Our working memory performance is less good. We forget, our listening quality is deteriorating and recording Zoom meetings for later viewing simply creates more power that reduces screen time.
Online meetings designed to get things done can be the same things that hurt our productivity, only at a time when margins are particularly tight and Financial business is on the edge of a precipice. There is some evidence that using only audio may be more productive than frequent screen meetings.
Zoom fatigue
The new study sheds light on the psychological impact of spending hours each day on a host of video calling platforms. The study found that people often reach “nonverbal overload” with lots of eye contact. This means that we need to work harder to send and receive all those nonverbal signals that are lost when so many of us are just heads filling the screen.
Another study indicates in face-to-face meetings, Nonverbal communication flows naturally And “we rarely consciously pay attention to our gestures and other non-verbal signals.” This is one of the reasons why many people cannot wait to return to a head-to-head confrontation. For others, it’s okay to zoom in until tiredness begins, then discomfort arises.
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This is where the good old phone conference can come in. The same study describes a “wonderful illusion that occurs during phone calls.” We are no longer burdened with a non-verbal overload or a breakdown in eye contact. We can even stretch out, move around the room, or even make a cup of tea while we’re talking.
We tend to pretend we’re getting 100% of other people’s attention on a phone call. “Only a minority of calls require staring at another person to communicate successfully,” the researchers concluded.
Abandon the zoom?
Many experts They are now Calls for fewer Zoom meetings.
However, the evidence to think seriously about the conference call comes from other academic works going back much further. Early studies By comparing television radio, newspapers, and computer screens, newspapers have been identified as allowing the most factual recall. Surprisingly, computer screens perform much closer to newspapers and better than television and radio. So, one for the screens? The problem is that we tend to remember less when we have screen strain.
On the other hand, Much research confirms How radio stimulates the imagination. The old saying goes “I prefer the radio to a TV because the pictures are sharper”. Be it with the phone, the radio, or the podcast, our energetic imagination is more reactive to listening than when we passively watch it. We can become very negative when we are stressed.
Some neuroscience research Emphasize that when our fantasies are active, they can become more emotionally aroused. Scientists interpreted this as an indication that audio content requires an active imagination on the part of the listener.
Another piece of research It becomes critical here, indicating that imagination goes hand in hand with motivation. According to this viewpoint, imagination can make us more goal-oriented, and increase the likelihood of things being accomplished. Zoom fatigue can have the opposite effect. The imaginative process inherent in the voice call increases the likelihood that our intentions will be executed well.
If this is true – and more research is needed on the problem – time will definitely be more aware of when and how often we meet on Zoom, for how long and for what purpose.
Try to hold some of your business meetings over the phone. It may seem strange at first and it will take some time to get used to, but you may find your meetings more productive and satisfying. May your imagination get to work and restart your impulses. I’m not saying banish all zooms, just rebalance your audio and screen usage.
Paul LevySenior Researcher in Innovation Management, University of Brighton
This article was republished from Conversation Under a Creative Commons license. Read the The original article.
Top image: Too long in front of the screen. Shutterstock / Girts Ragles
