China
Africa
Explore chapters and articles related to this topic
Communication in environmental health
Published in Stephen Battersby, Clay's Handbook of Environmental Health, 2023
The global pandemic of 2020/21 saw a huge rise in the use of video-calling platforms, and the unprecedented rise in people working form home. The pandemic changed the way many of us communicated both professionally and socially on a day-to-day basis. However, this did give rise to ‘zoom fatigue’ in some, as it was often the only means of effective communication, and many experienced back-to-back work calls, some dealing with a multitude of faces on a screen. These calls were often interrupted with poor internet/Wi-Fi issues and family matters, including home schooling woes. Then individuals were only able to ‘see’ and communicate with their family using the same media. Often from an uncomfortable position.
Future Teaching Design for Pandemic Response
Published in AnnaMarie Bliss, Dak Kopec, Architectural Factors for Infection and Disease Control, 2023
Zoom fatigue is real. “Zoom fatigue” explains the tiredness and burnout associated with overusing virtual platforms of communication that have become the norm in online teaching and interacting since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic (Wolf, 2020). Estimates state that nearly 300 million people are using Zoom or Zoom-equivalent online communication platforms to interact each day (Lee, 2020). Beyond interacting, many students are using their computers 8–10 hours a day to do homework, play video games, go to work, or keep up with family and friends. For architecture students, the task-oriented time online and on the computer often feels incomparable to other students.
Keep It Brief: Videoconferencing Frequency and Duration as Predictors of Visual and Body Discomfort
Published in International Journal of Human–Computer Interaction, 2022
Taylor A. Doty, Lauren E. Knox, Alexander X. Krause, Sara R. Berzenski, Jacob W. Hinkel-Lipsker, Stefanie A. Drew
Communication through technology is a fundamental part of modern-day society, including texting, emailing, phone calls, and videoconferencing. Today, people can choose to meet virtually with over a dozen different options for videoconferencing applications, most of which have an array of features built into smartphones and other personal devices. The current videoconferencing software available not only resembles face-to-face meetings more than traditional audio-only teleconferencing in terms of interpersonal communication but has also permitted individuals to meet from virtually any location (Basch et al., 2021). This form of communication is especially important in recent years, with the COVID-19 health crisis making working from home a necessity for many. Currently, videoconferencing is being used not only meet for business-related gatherings, but also for virtual learning and social meetings (Correia et al., 2020). Videoconferencing has become a cornerstone of our society today and will likely remain a permanent communication medium (Almeida et al., 2020). However, while videoconferencing appears to be, for many people, the preferred mode for communication over long distances (Foronda & Lippincott, 2014), a great amount of them experience fatigue drawn from videoconferencing that has been termed “Zoom Fatigue” after a popular videoconferencing application (Bailenson, 2021). Zoom Fatigue has been characterized by feelings of both mental and physical exhaustion (Nesher Shoshan & Wehrt, 2022) and symptoms that include visual discomfort and body pain (Peper et al., 2021; Riedl, 2022). Visual discomfort refers to the subjective experience of visual symptoms when viewing stimuli (O’Hare et al., 2013) and includes symptoms, such as burning, irritation, tearing, and dryness, as well as eyestrain and headaches (Sheedy et al., 2003). Body discomfort or pain can be expressed in terms of musculoskeletal discomfort that arises from several frequently documented factors, such as sustained postures and repetitive movements (Daneshmandi et al., 2017). Zoom Fatigue is a rapidly developing field of research that only recently has been reported in the literature. By examining both visual and body discomfort separately, we will better understand factors associated with increased Zoom Fatigue as we do not yet fully comprehend all the physical and psychological consequences of extended video conferencing.
Accommodating workers with disabilities in the post-Covid world
Published in Journal of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene, 2021
Katherine A. McNamara, Penney Mason Stanch
However, there have been consequences as well. Employees with low vision may not be able to participate fully in the demanding visual environment of a Zoom gallery (Newman 2021), where remembering to look at the camera, while constantly monitoring one’s self image, other participants, and any shared media create non-verbal overload (Bailenson 2021). In fact, the term Zoom fatigue has recently been coined to describe the effects of prolonged videoconferencing on the brain and psyche (Lee 2020). Increased eye strain and vigilant attention, combined with the distractions of lagging or interrupted audio, an inability to make eye contact with speakers, constant self-evaluation, and the challenge of sustaining focus in gallery format screens are thought to overtax the brain (Lee 2020; Sklar 2020). Some users report a more severe syndrome–including symptoms of vertigo, nausea and migraine headaches–that mimic cybersickness. Deaf and hearing-impaired workers report fatigue and stress due to the concentration and hypervigilance needed to compensate for their hearing loss (Punch 2016). This can be exacerbated during extended hours of videoconferencing when audio quality is inconsistent. Furthermore, videoconferencing is more sedentary than in person meetings or instruction (Bailenson 2021). To alleviate some these symptoms, basic ergonomic principals can be applied to reduce strain, such as eliminating unnecessary onscreen stimuli, cutting back on multitasking during videoconferences, changing communication modalities (from videoconferencing to phone calls or emails), and incorporating rest breaks and brief exercise into the work day. In addition, the visual stimuli of Zoom can be reduced by hiding the self view, and defaulting to speaker view rather than gallery (Bailenson 2021). Finally, while the obvious benefits of working from home have been broadly documented, increased social isolation has also been reported by those who live alone during the pandemic (Banerjee & Rai 2020), and increased stress and work life conflict have been reported by women, parents, and care givers (McLaren et al. 2020; Lyttelton et al. 2020). It is important to remember that the grand telecommuting experiment of 2020–2021 coincided with the closure of schools and childcare facilities, and eliminated most social activities. These concomitant changes make it difficult to measure the success of this recent shift to telecommuting on overall worker well-being.