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Video conferencing on platforms like Zoom has skyrocketed due to COVID-19. Hopping on a video call is convenient and efficient in many ways. But new research shows that some people who spend hours a day in virtual meetings suffer from “Zoom Fatigue"—even "Zoom Dysmorphia." Are there ways to combat the negative effects?This video was produced in collaboration with NOVA and is made possible in part by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, a private corporation funded by the American people.

If you’re “Zoomed out” from too many virtual meetings, you’re not alone.

If you’re “Zoomed out” from too many virtual meetings, you’re not alone.

If you’re “Zoomed out” from too many virtual meetings, you’re not alone. Video conferencing on platforms like Zoom has skyrocketed due to COVID-19. Hopping on a video call is convenient and efficient in many ways. But new research shows that some people who spend hours a day in virtual meetings suffer from “Zoom Fatigue" - even "Zoom Dysmorphia." Are there ways to combat the negative effects?

Exploring 'zoom fatigue' and the negative effects of video conferencing technology.

Zoomed Out!

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Zoomed Out!Published: September 27, 2021Narrator: The hours many people are spending in virutal meetings has some video conference users opting to have cosmetic procedures or even plastic surgery to enhance their physical appeareance on camera.Tiffany Stolzenfeld: When you take a still photo, you have an opportunity to get your best angle, to get the best lighting. When you're on zoom, it is what it is. You can only do so muchNarrator: Others working remotely during the pandemic—like business communication professor and single mom Amy Wisner—say video conferencing all day is just draining, both physically and mentally.Amy Wisner: In this pandemic driven zoom environment, the level of exhaustion is like nothing I've ever experiencedYeah, I have no idea what you said—the baby was crying the entire time. [laughs]The most difficult thing about being on zoom all the time is scheduling back to back to back to back to back meetings and teaching nonstop and not having a breakNarrator: That exhaustion Wisner and others are experiencing is what Stanford University researchers call "Zoom Fatigue."Rabi Ratan: You see yourself and that draws your attention to how you're presenting yourself. And that is psychologically and emotionally taxing.Narrator: Stanford University researchers identified four consequences of prolonged video chats that contribute to Zoom fatigue: the cognitive load on a person's brain from interpreting cues and gestures from others, reduced mobility from sitting in front of a computer screen all day, excessive amounts of close-up eye contact with others, and continuously seeing your own image on camera.A follow-up study found that, like Amy Wisner, women were more than twice as likely to experience high levels of Zoom fatigue compared to men.Ratan: The question is whyNarrator: Subsequently, researchers from Stanford and Michigan State University found another troubling trend with women who use video conferencing.Ratan: Women reported more zoom fatigue and facial dissatisfaction clearly plays a role. If you are a woman you're more likely to have higher facial dissatisfaction. And if you have that higher facial dissatisfaction, you are more likely to report zoom fatigue.Annamarie Montreuil: They're looking at themselves in these zoom cameras and picking out every little thing that they don't like, whether it's puffiness in their eyes, the number 11’s, horizontal forehead lines, the looseness of their neck.Dr. Charles Boyd: A lot of new men were coming in having facelifts and things for their neck, the majority, however, were women that were coming in similar thingsDr. Shadi Kouroush: The shift toward remote work and socialization forced people to confront their own image for hours on end every day, in a way that was never before seen in our society and frankly unnatural.Narrator: A survey of 134 dermatology specialists by researchers at Harvard Medical School found that cosmetic procedure consultations increased by 57 percent during the pandemic, with 86 percent of providers saying that appearance on video conferencing calls was listed by patients as a reason. Something they've termed "Zoom dysmorphia."Kouroush: Dermatologists, my friends and colleagues in my field felt that was surprising and, and disproportionate given the circumstances that we were in.Stolzenfeld: I wanted to have things done probably in the first couple of months when I realized this was going to be our new normal but I had to wait for the offices to open and they were flooded. So I knew I was on the same path as many others.Kouroush: They were people that in many cases were confident individuals that suddenly seemed to have this disproportionate sense of a negative appearance and sensitivity to it.Stolzenfeld: I started looking into procedures like filler under my eyes, which I had never done before // and doing this procedure which minimizes the fat underneath your chin and jawline.Narrator: There's another aspect of video conference technology that could be contributing to facial dissatisfaction. Kouroush: What we found in continuing to research these aspects and the technology of front-facing cameras // is that the front-facing cameras on our laptops and our smartphones actually distort images more than classical cameras. And in addition to this, we interact with those devices at a closer range than photographs are classically taken.It's more like looking in a fun house mirror because the image is distorted.Narrator: Some ways to decrease mirror anxiety when on video conference calls include using the "hide self-view button," positioning your camera further away, and turning your camera off to give yourself a break. But dermatologists and plastic surgeons don't expect the trend of increased cosmetic consultations to wane anytime soon. Boyd: I think it will continue. And I think that when you look particularly at the younger patients in the younger generation, they're certainly all into it.Narrator: Virtual meetings are likely here to stay—as the cost-savings and convenience of video conferencing has many offices moving toward a hybrid office and remote working environment. And some researchers think one way to alleviate issues like Zoom fatigue and dysmorphia in the future could be to use avatars in virtual meetings; a tool some tech companies are developing. Ratan: Imagine that you could just roll out a bed and be wearing a business suit in the zoom meeting because it's an avatar. And what if it's so realistic, No one could even tell the difference?Narrator: As video conference technology advances, research into its cognitive and psychological effects will continue. Ratan: It's something that's probably been going on for a long time amongst the cohort of people who spend a lot of time in virtual meetings. But because we didn't have a pandemic drawing everyone into this medium of communication, we weren't studying it.Kouroush: My hope is that with studying the various aspects of remote living and video conferencing, we can identify aspects of it that are positive and beneficial and then aspects of it that may not be so that we can adapt and make sure that we find a healthy balance going forward.

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