Despite Exhaustion, the Upside of Zoom
Despite Exhaustion, the Upside of Zoom (by Bob Spensley)
Bob: Zoom Fatigue, a condition of feeling more tired than normal from being on camera instead of being in-person, seems to be upon us. I’m feeling it myself, and I know others are too, but why? So, I asked my wife. “Kim”, I asked, “Physiologically, emotionally, why is this a thing?”
Here’s what she had to say:
Kim: There is an actual field called cyberpsychology! It’s the study of the impact of technology upon the mind and the brain. This term “zoom fatigue” is a real thing. There are a number of reasons for it.
When people are confined to small squares on a screen, we have to deepen our capacity to focus upon their nonverbals in 2-D, and this taxes the brain. In one-to-one conversations online, prolonged eye contact can potentially increase our stress response as it may feel threatening or too intimate if held for too long. It is also difficult to know where to put your eyes. We sometimes distract ourselves with our own image on the screen, increasing the information from our own nonverbal cues. There is also a slight delay in the communication on zoom, or whichever online platform being used, that creates an asynchrony in the normal flow of information within our relational circuitry.
Multi-person screens have the potential to magnify zoom fatigue. Gallery view may challenge the brain’s central detail vision, forcing it to decode so many people at once that it can become difficult to prioritize the meaning intended in the conversation. For some it may result in divided attention, a kind of multi-tasking of the frontal cortex, especially if we are also simultaneously attuned to the chat. The brain can become overwhelmed with this excess stimulation while being hyper-focused on searching for non-verbal cues that are hard to grasp.
The lights and movements and colours on the screen can also be overwhelming to the nervous system. I am remembering one day, the bright lights in our studio triggered a migraine for me and the position of my neck from looking up at the big tv screen has been taxing on my postural and visual system.
Sometimes people on zoom strive for contact and connection and other participants keep their screens off, allowing them to listen without that level of participation in the connection. Although there may be many reasons for desiring the invisibility, or it can also be for technical reasons that the camera doesn’t work, the empty box can leave some individuals feeling slightly neuro-chemically altered within the relational pathways of their brain.
As a teacher, online presenting and facilitating pushes me personally, to expand and consciously use my affect to reach into the screen and connect with each person as an individual while they are all up there simultaneously. During workshops, when I can see the participants, I want each person to feel as if they are with me by themselves, feeling received and understood as an individual. This draws energy from within one’s inner being in attempt to “feel people” even when you cannot see them in person.
Bob: This all makes sense. And I know there are even more reasons why being on zoom for hours-on-end can be draining, like sitting still for a long period of time isn’t good for anyone...so of course I had to ask Kim about the upside. There’s gotta be an upside. “Kim, is zooming worth it? What are the positives?”
Kim: Absolutely! We are able to connect globally like never before. From the Himalayas of India to the depths of Kenya we are now all able to learn with the potential for equal access. There is a potential for the parents of our pediatric clients to truly participate in the process of supporting their children. Whole families can now be involved in the therapeutic process. It is my belief that this hybrid of clinical support in a tele-therapy way is here to stay, now and in the future. Many families spend hours or days traveling to their various therapy sessions and have to communicate between multi-disciplinary team members. Meeting virtually has the potential to bring teams into new connections, supporting families with a greater degree of holism than ever before. Although we do not want to lose our touch and in-person play as an integral aspect of our clinical skills, virtual adjuncts can support the healing process in ways that expand our reach.
When we communicate in-person, the brain focuses partly on the words that are being spoken but our brain is designed to be mostly attuned to nonverbal cues that signal our safety, our connection and our perceptions. We are wired for connection, and as Stephen Porges says we are “wired to co-regulate each other”. When we didn’t have the possibility to meet in-person, millions of people’s stress levels increased due to the lack of connection to our co-regulators.
This is the positive that zoom has brought to COVID-19: allowing us to continue to feel connected while being physically apart. Reaching into the screen and creating connection that feels “felt” and supportive is in my opinion expanding our brain in so many ways that we are not even yet aware of. Humans are innately adaptive and who knows perhaps someday we may have to learn to stay connected over distances and in ways we can’t yet even imagine.
In Julia Sklar’s Nat Geo article she indicates that there is also some evidence to suggest that those with neurodiverse brains who experience challenges with in-person exchanges are potentially better able to navigate virtual communication. Their anxiety over ambiguous social chit-chat or having multi-person conversations is often be a challenge in-person. For example, not always, but sometimes when you are zooming online, it can be easier to determine when it is your turn to talk.
Additionally, there is an upside for some people who are shy, in that they can participate actively through observation and in the chat with their cameras off and their microphones silent and for more socially extroverted people, the break-out rooms are a God-send, a chance to reflect on the learning and process out loud while connecting more informally with other participants.
In the big picture, virtual meetings, trainings and therapy sessions save participants a lot of time and countless travel dollars. In addition to in-person collaborations, (when they’re possible and when they’re required) online connections and relationships can now be made and maintained like never before in the history of the world. But like all things, it’s not what you do but how you do it that matters.
Bob: Without even mentioning the contributions of zoom-like technology in keeping the economy afloat, services flowing, training happening and families/friends connected in trying times - compared with not having it as a possibility at all – it sure seems like there’s an immeasurable amount of good coming from it.
Given all this, despite its imperfections and the fact that it can be tiring, I am coming to accept that a growing part of our human connections, professional or otherwise, will forevermore be virtual and visual. I hope that people who are either hesitant or financially challenged find courage and/or the means to access and embrace the technology and techniques, and learn to make it work for them in their particular context. As an intention: may we make every virtual experience as enjoyable and productive as possible - towards the greater good for all - and may each one of us take more care of ourselves in between.
Kim’s Top Ten Tips on Avoiding Zoom Fatigue:
1. Stay hydrated
2. Avoid keeping your eyes glued to the screen
3. Be conscious of your posture, adjust as you can
4. Move at least a little, every chance and break you get
5. Clean your screen and your glasses
6. Consider ear/head phones for clarity of sound
7. Don’t worry at all about taking breaks when you need to
8. If cost allows, find a bigger screen
9. Smile a bit more, it encourages others to do the same
10. Laugh at presenters’ jokes – the connection gives them energy J
Some references:
Morris B. Why does Zoom exhaust you? Science has an answer. https://www.wsj.com/articles/why-does-zoom-exhaust-you-science-has-an-answer-11590600269 (accessed June 2, 2020). Google Scholar