Fight back Zoom Fatigue
ANNA SHEILA P. BRIONES
Attending webinars left and right has been the daily routine of most of professionals since the pandemic. A lot of mentions about “Zoom Fatigue” in social media awaken my curiosity. What is “Zoom Fatigue” and how do I fight it?
Zoom Fatigue, according to idtech.com, is feeling worn out with having to be “on” all the time during the many virtual meetings we endure each day. Thus, it’s not really Zoom-caused fatigue. It’s video/ online meeting fatigue, but Zoom gets the label because Zoom is the go-to meeting tool for most. Why do we feel this so called “zoom fatigue”?
Based on my experience here are some reasons why we feel more exhausted during online interaction than physical interaction:
The eyes – we tend to focus only on the screen/ monitor, not to mention the brightness, the quality and the size of your screen which can bring tension to the eyes
The back – depending on your posture, on how you sit for long period of time, it can cause back pain
The ears – you have to focus on the important things the speaker is discussing and you try hard to ignore distractions like the sound of dog barking outside
The mind – difficulty interpreting nonverbal communication. Unlike with face to face interaction we can immediately pick up on social cues like hand gestures, eye contacts, body movements and the like. It’s even harder to focus our minds during webinars because of so many distractions around us like your family member calling you, your neighbor talking to you, etc., unlike when you are inside a conference room everybody that you’re with have the same goal or focus and you can even talk to them when you need clarification which can ease boredom.
How do we fight back “zoom fatigue”
Schedule your meeting in such a way that you will have intervals in between so you will have time to rest your eyes and stretch your back.
Turn off the camera or press the mute button if you have to. Communicate. Use the different tools whatever meeting app you’re using especially if you need clarification.
Space. Allot a space where there are no distractions.
Posture. Sit properly
Think positive. The moment you think that webinars are boring, that’s the moment it becomes one.