Videoconferencing Fatigue is Real, Study Finds

Feeling especially drained after a day on Zoom is not a figment of your imagination -- videoconferencing fatigue (VCF) is real, according to a study penned by a quartet of Austrian investigators. From a report: 'Self-report evidence, collected all around the world, indicates that VCF is a serious issue,' wrote the authors of a study appearing in Scientific Reports, a journal published by Nature Reports. However, most available research on VCF relies on personal accounts of the problem, and focuses on the cause rather than the consequences, explained the researchers.

To determine the effects on the brain caused by hours of videoconferences, the team measured electrical activity in the noggins of 35 university students who watched a 50-minute lecture while wired into an electroencephalogram (EEG). The researchers asked another group to watch same content live. The researchers also calculated effects on heart rate for the two groups with electrocardiography (ECG), measured before and after videoconferencing sessions. Subjects were also given cognitive attention tasks and asked for self reports on moods. Those attending the live lecture reported they felt more lively, happy and active, and less tired, drowsy and fed-up than online counterparts.

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