We are officially winding down towards the end of what has been a horrific year and I can say one thing as far as online schooling: I never want to be on another Zoom call for as long as I live.
Don’t get me wrong, I can appreciate staying in my pajamas when I log on and having the option to choose if I want to attend class with my mic and camera off, but like everyone else that’s attending college from their computers, the constant shuffling between meetings throughout the week can get pretty monotonous when there’s still almost two more months left in the semester.
As if my seminar professor could read my mind, she sent out several articles to our class homepage under a resources section for coping with remote learning. Out of all of the self-help articles, one stood out to me the most: “12 Tips that Actually Help with Zoom Fatigue”. What intrigued me about this article was that as much as I was feeling burned out from the constant Zoom calling, I had no clue if others felt the same way and that I wasn’t just being dramatic and lazy. Zoom fatigue is real.
“When we experience everything through a screen—one that always seems to be watching us back—it’s bound to wear us out.”
It’s the honest truth! Most of our activity revolves around scheduling, joining, and hosting meetings online week after week. After a few months, the motivation and drive we had at the beginning of the semester seem to fade as the assignments build-up and the days feel like they’re passing by—I mean, where did September go?!
One fact that I learned from reading this article is that the reason we are feeling more fatigued than usual is actually much more of a neurological issue than it is physical. “Video calls require more mental processing than face-to-face interactions,” and if others’ mics are muted, the non-verbal cues that we rely on in-person are also skewed. Really, we feel more alone and isolated from the world when we’re speaking to black, muted squares. If your teachers have been asking to turn your camera on, just know that it’s not to be annoying, but that they don’t want to be speaking into the void for an hour straight.
Personally, what’s been a prominent cause of my Zoom fatigue is not just the constant meetings, but the environment where I’m having these meetings in the first place. Working from my bedroom has led me to feel much more lethargic and tempted to staying in my bed all day, which is definitely the opposite of finding a productive space.
With the beautiful fall weather approaching, I have had to make myself take outdoor breaks instead of laying in bed or watching YouTube for hours at a time. Not only has this given me a chance to take my eyes off of my computer and phone screen during the day and alleviate constant eye strain, but by changing my environment, I am able to concentrate better throughout the day and I don’t feel as trapped in my cramped space. Even if it’s just to sit in my living room when no one’s home and crack open a window to let in the fresh air, changing up the environment where I relax has greatly helped with the academic and pandemic-related burnout.
If you’re experiencing Zoom fatigue, just know that it’s completely normal to feel this way, so don’t feel bad if this is the year that you may not be feeling like your regular self—no one is.