Zoom fatigue
Term possibly coined by L.M. Sacasas. A slightly complex set of observations that make many of us weary of video conferencing.
Some key points:
- Lack of near-imperceptible micro-gestures
- Difficult to read the others
- Difficult to tell if someone’s grimacing or it’s just a poor connection
- Time lag
- Being tempted by multi-tasking
- Split-second distractions like notifications (speaker or receiver)
- Possibly bad posture for participants
- Becoming overly self-concious – black mirror
- Frustrating our minds to emulate a face-to-face meeting (unable to deploy ‘their non-conscious repertoire of perceptive skills’[1])
In order to use these tools well, it’s worth reckoning with what Zoom or Skype can and cannot do. We should understand how they might be undermining our stated objectives, and we should be clear about what we are asking of others when we mandate their use.