HOW TO TACKLE ZOOM FATIGUE

After nearly two years of working from home, the novelty of video conferencing has rather worn off…

- MICHAEL MOSLEY

As the New Year approaches, one resolution I am determined to make and stick to is to spend less time on Zoom and other forms of video-conferencing software. What started out as a great way to keep in contact with other people during lockdown has turned into a brain-draining, bottom-numbing experience that has sapped a lot of joy out of my life.

So what is it about spending way too many hours doing video calls that is so soul destroying? For enlightenment, I turned to Prof Jeremy Bailenson, founding director of the Stanford Virtual Human Interaction Lab (VHIL). Earlier this year, he published a study that outlined the theoretical arguments for the causes of Zoom fatigue and why we experience it. He also offered some solutions.