Digest #146: The Psychology of “Zoom Fatigue”
In the world of COVID-19, video conferencing has become commonplace. Many of us spend our days on back to back video calls and find ourselves exhausted by the end. This phenomenon has been dubbed “zoom fatigue” but applies to any type of video conferencing. At its foundation, zoom fatigue is a cognitive issue, which presumably has implications for learning. In today’s digest, we provide a collection of sources that talk about the various causes of zoom fatigue as well as some practices for reduction.
Image from Pixabay
1. The Psychological Impact of Video Calls by H Locke
This is an excellent summary article that discusses attention, social-emotional issues, and environmental context issues. While the article applies these issues to user experience research, the concepts are the same for all of us.
Image from Pixabay
Image from Pixabay
2. Why is Video Conferencing so Exhausting by the Viewpoint Research Team
This brief article applies self-regulation theory to video conferencing.
3. Why Video Chats are So Exhausting by Doreen Dodgen-Magee
This Psychology Today article points out the cognitive dissonance that can derive from watching oneself while simultaneously knowing you should be attending to others.
4. The Reason Zoom Calls Drain Your Energy by Manyu Jiang
The author of this article uses social-complexity theory to explain zoom fatigue but also talks about the broader implications of the pandemic as causing an additional layer of fatigue.
Image from Pixabay
5. “Zoom Fatigue” is Taxing Your Brain. Here’s Why That Happens by Julia Sklar
This National Geographic article does an excellent job pointing back to the research that underlies each of the issues associated with zoom fatigue, including issues of gaze, collaboration, and attention. The author also discusses the particular struggles that individuals with autism can experience during video calls.
From time to time, we pick a theme and provide a curated list of links. If you have a theme suggestion, please don’t hesitate to contact us! Occasionally we publish a guest digest, and If you'd like to propose a guest digest click here. Our 5 most recent digests can be found here:
Digest #141: Autism and Educational Settings
Digest #142: (COVID-19 Edition): Online Teaching and Learning Resources
