"The word “Zoom” is one that not many of us knew 11 months ago, but one we know all too well now. Like in any situation, there are some pros and cons to Zoom school. A notable con would be the stress a distant-learning dynamic brings."
--Maya Mastropasqua, 6th grade
The word “Zoom” is one that not many of us knew 11 months ago, but one we know all too well now. Like in any situation, there are some pros and cons to Zoom school. A notable con would be the stress a distant-learning dynamic brings.
Zion Fort, a 6th grader at OSA talks about the difference between a good Zoom meeting dynamic and a bad one, saying, “If I were to describe a good meeting, no student interrupts, there are check-in breakout rooms and having something interesting that you’d want to learn.”
In a recent article in Psychiatric Today, A Neuropsychological Exploration of Zoom Fatigue, Jenna Lee talks about the stress that comes with simple Zoom conversations. “It turns out that millisecond delays in virtual verbal responses negatively affect our interpersonal perceptions, even without any internet connection or technical issues,” she writes.
When 6th grader Milana Milner was asked if the delays in virtual response were stressful, she said it was harder to understand the situation with that pause. “You’re more likely to have a harder time understanding the conversation, and if you have laggy internet,” she says.
The article also points out that what normally stops us from fatigue is social interaction perceived as a reward.
“So, more active social connection is associated with more perceived reward, which in turn affects the very neurological pathways modulating alertness versus fatigue,” Lee writes. Basically, Lee is saying that you do things at school or work, for a reward, which is social interaction. Because you don’t get these social interactions, you get fatigued more easily.
Another factor that might feed into the stress is showing your face on camera. Some might like it, others not.“I’m totally fine with that,” says Fort, who says she’s torn both ways, between being great with having her camera on all the time and finding it stressful, or just not wanting to do it. If the teacher requires it, she’s fine with putting her camera on. But there are some days when she just doesn’t feel like it.
Although, of course, there are definitely ways where you can talk to fellow classmates: in a breakout room. But, it’s not completely like a normal conversation. That’s because, as the article puts it, “Much of communication is actually unconscious and nonverbal, as emotional content is rapidly processed through social cues like touch, joint attention, and body posture.” When you’re on a video call, all of that gets taken away, so, you don’t connect as easily.
As for just basic talking, some might say that it’s awkward, or unnatural. In Fort’s opinion, “I feel like it’s more, stiff, more weird.” She then explains that she’s a really talkative person and that when she goes into a breakout room, people will have their video off and muted, and they don’t want to talk. “But I guess if we were not in a breakout room and actually in a classroom, we wouldn’t have breakout rooms in the first place and you’d be able to have an actual conversation, rather than have the option to turn off your video, and mute, yourself. You know, all of that.”
In an article by LIiby Sander and Oliver Bauman on IDEAS.TED.COM entitled Zoom fatigue is real - here’s why video calls are so draining, the authors talk about the stress and fatigue that comes with Zoom meetings.
“Emotions precede and follow all our behaviors, and influence management decision-making. Sensitive topics are often canvassed, requiring us to notice subtleties and display empathy,” they write. What the article is saying is that a part of the reasons that we have for making certain decisions come from emotions, making us notice subtle details, and show empathy.
In class, you can get help with work from your classmates. But how might that change in online school? Milner commented saying, “You can do a little bit of small talk, [in a breakout room] before getting to the actual thing. But yeah, I do think it’s important.” Milner agrees that the conversation is easier than in real life.
The article continues, stating that “Our brains can only do so many things consciously at once, because we have limited working memory. In contrast, we can process much more information unconsciously, as we do with body language.” Meaning that we can get a lot of information unconsciously, through body language, something we’re not able to do virtually.
The article points out that seeing our emotions on someone else intensifies our own emotions. “Viewing our own negative facial expressions, like anger and disgust, can lead to more intense emotions than when viewing similar facial expressions in others,” it says.
In the future, something that Milner thinks her teachers should do that would improve her zoom school experience is “maybe doing a mini check-in game or something like that. The check-ins help me get my day started, or if my day is already started, helps me get on track.”
Stress is something that we all have to deal with at some point. In different situations, our stress is heightened, and we get fatigued. Zoom, as one example, can do that to many people. There are several ways that Zoom or video calls, in general, can be stressful, but the important thing is, at the end of the day, log off.
Zion Fort, a 6th grader at OSA talks about the difference between a good Zoom meeting dynamic and a bad one, saying, “If I were to describe a good meeting, no student interrupts, there are check-in breakout rooms and having something interesting that you’d want to learn.”
In a recent article in Psychiatric Today, A Neuropsychological Exploration of Zoom Fatigue, Jenna Lee talks about the stress that comes with simple Zoom conversations. “It turns out that millisecond delays in virtual verbal responses negatively affect our interpersonal perceptions, even without any internet connection or technical issues,” she writes.
When 6th grader Milana Milner was asked if the delays in virtual response were stressful, she said it was harder to understand the situation with that pause. “You’re more likely to have a harder time understanding the conversation, and if you have laggy internet,” she says.
The article also points out that what normally stops us from fatigue is social interaction perceived as a reward.
“So, more active social connection is associated with more perceived reward, which in turn affects the very neurological pathways modulating alertness versus fatigue,” Lee writes. Basically, Lee is saying that you do things at school or work, for a reward, which is social interaction. Because you don’t get these social interactions, you get fatigued more easily.
Another factor that might feed into the stress is showing your face on camera. Some might like it, others not.“I’m totally fine with that,” says Fort, who says she’s torn both ways, between being great with having her camera on all the time and finding it stressful, or just not wanting to do it. If the teacher requires it, she’s fine with putting her camera on. But there are some days when she just doesn’t feel like it.
Although, of course, there are definitely ways where you can talk to fellow classmates: in a breakout room. But, it’s not completely like a normal conversation. That’s because, as the article puts it, “Much of communication is actually unconscious and nonverbal, as emotional content is rapidly processed through social cues like touch, joint attention, and body posture.” When you’re on a video call, all of that gets taken away, so, you don’t connect as easily.
As for just basic talking, some might say that it’s awkward, or unnatural. In Fort’s opinion, “I feel like it’s more, stiff, more weird.” She then explains that she’s a really talkative person and that when she goes into a breakout room, people will have their video off and muted, and they don’t want to talk. “But I guess if we were not in a breakout room and actually in a classroom, we wouldn’t have breakout rooms in the first place and you’d be able to have an actual conversation, rather than have the option to turn off your video, and mute, yourself. You know, all of that.”
In an article by LIiby Sander and Oliver Bauman on IDEAS.TED.COM entitled Zoom fatigue is real - here’s why video calls are so draining, the authors talk about the stress and fatigue that comes with Zoom meetings.
“Emotions precede and follow all our behaviors, and influence management decision-making. Sensitive topics are often canvassed, requiring us to notice subtleties and display empathy,” they write. What the article is saying is that a part of the reasons that we have for making certain decisions come from emotions, making us notice subtle details, and show empathy.
In class, you can get help with work from your classmates. But how might that change in online school? Milner commented saying, “You can do a little bit of small talk, [in a breakout room] before getting to the actual thing. But yeah, I do think it’s important.” Milner agrees that the conversation is easier than in real life.
The article continues, stating that “Our brains can only do so many things consciously at once, because we have limited working memory. In contrast, we can process much more information unconsciously, as we do with body language.” Meaning that we can get a lot of information unconsciously, through body language, something we’re not able to do virtually.
The article points out that seeing our emotions on someone else intensifies our own emotions. “Viewing our own negative facial expressions, like anger and disgust, can lead to more intense emotions than when viewing similar facial expressions in others,” it says.
In the future, something that Milner thinks her teachers should do that would improve her zoom school experience is “maybe doing a mini check-in game or something like that. The check-ins help me get my day started, or if my day is already started, helps me get on track.”
Stress is something that we all have to deal with at some point. In different situations, our stress is heightened, and we get fatigued. Zoom, as one example, can do that to many people. There are several ways that Zoom or video calls, in general, can be stressful, but the important thing is, at the end of the day, log off.
