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.
This story is from the December 2021 edition of BBC Focus - Science & Technology.
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This story is from the December 2021 edition of BBC Focus - Science & Technology.
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