A Year of Working from Home. This is How Zoom Calls have Affected Our Brains

We have passed a year since the initial Covid-19 shutdowns. Zoom has become a huge part of today’s work flow, with a 470% increase in customers having more than 10 employees from this time last year, the company says. A Stanford analysis explains with a breakdown of the four causes of “zoom fatigue.” You don’t expect primordial instincts to kick in during your 9 a.m. meeting. Bailenson mentions a separate study that concludes that long periods of self-focusing can “prime women to experience depression.” Zoom fatigue traps us in a box. Bailenson says “it will be like a weight taken off your shoulders.” Use an external web cam, or opt for more phone call meetings — so you can get up and think out of that Zoom box.