tag:theconversation.com,2011:/us/topics/videoconferencing-103190/articlesVideoconferencing – The Conversation2022-04-14T11:11:41Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1803612022-04-14T11:11:41Z2022-04-14T11:11:41ZNetworking online: how to make professional connections remotely and why it matters<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/458133/original/file-20220414-26-w13935.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Making connections with people in online events requires planning and a proactive attitude. </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-vector/working-home-during-covid19-pandemic-video-1705122784">SwitchedDesign | Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>On paper, networking is a relatively simple task. Mingle with like-minded professionals while sipping wine and you greatly increase your chances of landing a coveted role, or building your dream career. </p>
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<p><em>You can listen to more articles from The Conversation, narrated by Noa, <a href="https://theconversation.com/uk/topics/audio-narrated-99682">here</a>.</em></p>
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<p>Pre-COVID, gearing up for a <a href="https://theconversation.com/ten-tips-to-help-students-become-more-employable-62367">networking</a> event, you would probably have walked into a venue, thinking, “Smile. Remember your elevator pitch. If all else fails, talk about the weather.” </p>
<p>Now though, many of us are faced with a slightly different predicament: how to network while working remotely. Operating out of makeshift home offices, with children demanding tea or pets stepping on keyboards, <a href="https://www.theverge.com/tldr/2021/3/11/22325564/bbc-dad-kids-interrupt-zoom-video-call-anniversary-covid-19-pandemic">we have collectively become</a> BBC Dad, AKA <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/av/world-52050099">Robert Kelly</a>. The Busan-based political scientist famously went viral in 2017 when his children interrupted a live interview he was doing on television, and his wife had to scramble to get them out of his office. </p>
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<img alt="Quarter life, a series by The Conversation" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/451343/original/file-20220310-13-1bj6csd.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/451343/original/file-20220310-13-1bj6csd.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/451343/original/file-20220310-13-1bj6csd.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/451343/original/file-20220310-13-1bj6csd.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/451343/original/file-20220310-13-1bj6csd.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/451343/original/file-20220310-13-1bj6csd.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/451343/original/file-20220310-13-1bj6csd.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<p><em><strong><a href="https://theconversation.com/uk/topics/quarter-life-117947?utm_source=TCUK&utm_medium=linkback&utm_campaign=UK+YP2022&utm_content=InArticleTop">This article is part of Quarter Life</a></strong>, a series about issues affecting those of us in our twenties and thirties. From the challenges of beginning a career and taking care of our mental health, to the excitement of starting a family, adopting a pet or just making friends as an adult. The articles in this series explore the questions and bring answers as we navigate this turbulent period of life.</em></p>
<p><em>More articles:</em></p>
<p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/can-we-ever-fully-separate-our-work-and-home-lives-philosophy-suggests-we-should-stop-trying-177582">Can we ever fully separate our work and home lives? Philosophy suggests we should stop trying</a></em></p>
<p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/student-loans-would-a-graduate-tax-be-a-better-option-179253">Student loans: would a graduate tax be a better option?</a></em></p>
<p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/why-it-makes-good-business-sense-for-your-employer-to-look-after-your-mental-health-177503">Why it makes good business sense for your employer to look after your mental health</a></em></p>
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<p>As tricky a proposition as it might be to meet people in such circumstances, research shows that rising to the challenge is worth it. According to one online survey, networking accounts for up to <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/new-survey-reveals-85-all-jobs-filled-via-networking-lou-adler">85% of all filled vacancies</a>. It can also lead to substantial pay rises, as evidenced by <a href="https://www.refinery29.com/en-gb/salary-story-24k-pay-rise-networking">the recent story</a> of how one employee secured a £24,000 pay rise solely through networking. </p>
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<img alt="A group of smartly dressed employees eat canapes and chat, standing in an office space." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/458127/original/file-20220414-26-7u80c1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/458127/original/file-20220414-26-7u80c1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/458127/original/file-20220414-26-7u80c1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/458127/original/file-20220414-26-7u80c1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/458127/original/file-20220414-26-7u80c1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/458127/original/file-20220414-26-7u80c1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/458127/original/file-20220414-26-7u80c1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Networking is about showing an interest in what other people in your field are doing.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/delegates-networking-during-conference-lunch-break-479733907">Monkey Business Images | Shutterstock</a></span>
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<p>My research shows that in early 2022, 44% of young people used social media to look for career information – up from <a href="https://www.thefreelibrary.com/Students%27+use+of+social+media+for+job+seeking%3A+a+recruitment+guide+...-a0328945398">only 19%</a> a decade ago – and 42%<a href="https://theconversation.com/job-seeking-is-the-religious-pilgrimage-of-the-21st-century-166227">consulted their social networks when looking to make a</a> career decision. Online networking, even before the pandemic, was a <a href="https://www.napier.ac.uk/%7E/media/worktribe/output-2656687/using-social-media-during-job-search-the-case-of-16-24-year-olds-in-scotland-published.pdf">crucial tool</a> for career development.</p>
<h2>How to network online</h2>
<p>Remote working has of course seen videoconferencing become the norm. Online networking events are now routinely held on platforms including EventBrite, Slack, Yammer and Instagram live. </p>
<p>So first, do your research: identify the organisations, associations, and causes of most interest to you. Find the blogs and forums that are relevant to your field of work, and sign up to as many mailing lists as you can efficiently handle. Find your people and follow them on social media.</p>
<p>The goal of this first step is to increase the volume of information that you receive passively. This creates what is known as <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/1745691619868207#:%7E:text=Gibson%20(1979)%2C%20who%20introduced,127">environmental affordance</a>: the possibility for action afforded to you by your environment. The more regular updates about relevant events that you receive, the more likely you are to attend them.</p>
<p>Second, be strategic. In a world where conference dinners and impromptu water cooler conversations have been replaced by Zoom catch-ups, things aren’t as spontaneous as they were before. Scheduling is key.</p>
<p>Create a <a href="https://www.rivier.edu/academics/blog-posts/how-to-develop-a-successful-networking-plan/">personal networking plan</a>. Decide how much time you are going to devote to online networking and note down your goals: how many people you want to speak to; which companies you want to find out more about; which specific people you need to seek out to discuss specific topics. Make sure to schedule in time to maintain your online presence. And opt for a variety of engagements such as webinars, online recruitment fairs, one-to-one Zoom meetings, and online conferences.</p>
<p>Third, research shows that the most prolific networkers possess proactive personality traits, and are likely to score high on extroversion – a trait associated with being outgoing and seeking out new experiences – in personality tests. That does not mean, however, that you have to be an extrovert to succeed at networking. You just need to be proactive: proactive behaviour is the <a href="https://www.hf.uni-koeln.de/data/orgwipsy/File/Bendella_2020_aam.pdf">strongest predictor of networking success</a>.</p>
<p>If there is a specific person or a group of professionals that you would like to build a relationship with, get in touch with them directly. Email them, message them on Twitter, set up a Zoom meeting, or research the online networking mixers they might take part in.</p>
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<img alt="A man in grey jeans and a black t-shirt stands in a large room in front of three tall screens filled with hundreds of zoom windows." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/458138/original/file-20220414-20-v4chvd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/458138/original/file-20220414-20-v4chvd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/458138/original/file-20220414-20-v4chvd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/458138/original/file-20220414-20-v4chvd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/458138/original/file-20220414-20-v4chvd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/458138/original/file-20220414-20-v4chvd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/458138/original/file-20220414-20-v4chvd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Schedule in time to go to online events and follow the people aligned with your interests.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/bangkok-thailand-21-may-2020-young-1739200667">Siam Stock | Shutterstock</a></span>
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<h2>Why networking is critical to success</h2>
<p>Networking underpins two key aspects of professional advancement: employability and self-directed career development. </p>
<p>The first, employability, pertains to what economists refer to as the <a href="https://dash.harvard.edu/bitstream/handle/1/34309590/human_capital_handbook_of_cliometrics_0.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y">human capital</a> of a potential employee: their external marketability and the relative value of their educational background, technical skills, and soft skills – such as communication, time management and creativity – on the job market. Networking makes your human capital readily apparent to employers and prompts hiring decisions.</p>
<p>Self-directed career development, meanwhile, is an <a href="https://www.napier.ac.uk/%7E/media/worktribe/output-2747064/new-information-literacy-horizons-making-the-case-for-career-information-literacy-1.pdf">ongoing personal development project</a>, whereby you seek career information and take action towards longterm career goals. Here, networking is a crucial means for obtaining <a href="https://www.napier.ac.uk/%7E/media/worktribe/output-2291075/networking-as-an-information-behaviour-during-job-search-an-study-of-active-jobseekers-in.pdf">career information</a>. This both helps you raise your personal aspirations and figure out whether a particular job, company, or sector is <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0099133319300424">right for you</a>. The firsthand experiences of other people working in a given profession can be helpful in gauging whether you too would be a good fit.</p>
<p>Networking also helps to build relationships with mentors and role models, and gives access to peer support communities and professional groups. This is about more than just securing a job. It creates a sense of belonging and of professional identity, and in doing so develops what social scientists term “<a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/233546004_What_Is_Social_Capital_A_Comprehensive_Review_of_the_Concept">social capital</a>”: shared <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-internet-helps-us-translate-social-capital-to-economic-benefits-64664">norms, values, and beliefs</a> in professional communities.</p>
<p>Networking involves a number of skills – approaching others, finding common ground, maintaining relationships – that can be practised and learned. Of these, <a href="https://blog.bni-sterling.co.uk/networking-skills-the-art-of-active-listening">listening</a> –- not talking – is perhaps the most important. Express an interest in other people’s work and ask them questions, and you’ll be well on your way to making meaningful connections that benefit not only you as an individual. Because they bolster knowledge exchange and collective problem-solving, they benefit your community too.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/180361/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Marina Milosheva receives funding from the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC).</span></em></p>Networking involves a skillset that can be learned and practised. Doing so – online or in person – is crucial to career advancement.Marina Milosheva, PhD candidate in Social Informatics, Edinburgh Napier UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1776702022-04-07T12:52:16Z2022-04-07T12:52:16ZCOVID-19: Mental health telemedicine was off to a slow start – then the pandemic happened<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/456403/original/file-20220405-16-bgijqy.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=7%2C0%2C4913%2C3260&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">For decades, doctors and patients have used telemedicine. But it gained wider use when the COVID-19 pandemic led to canceled appointments and closed clinics.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/face-to-face-online-psychotherapy-session-royalty-free-image/518410972">verbaska_studio/iStock via Getty Images Plus</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>In the spring of 2020, COVID-19 brought rising levels of stress, <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/69/wr/mm6932a1.htm">anxiety and depression</a>. But stay-at-home orders and a national emergency prompted many psychiatric and psychotherapy offices to shut down and cancel in-person appointments.</p>
<p>The country needed a robust – and fast – transition to mental health <a href="https://doi.org/10.1089/tmj.2006.0073">telemedicine</a>. And the pandemic turned out to be just the thing to make it happen.</p>
<h2>Changing tech, old idea</h2>
<p>I was skeptical of telemedicine in 2015 when I began working at Wayne State University as a <a href="https://www.starclab.org/members/arash-javanbakht">psychiatrist and researcher</a> in the medical school. At that time, the department of psychiatry and its affiliated clinics were using telemedicine in primary and emergency care and for substance use recovery.</p>
<p>But the idea of seeing patients via video had been around since long before then. In 1973, a team of behavioral scientists studied the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1176/ajp.130.8.865">two-way interactive television</a> system Massachusetts General Hospital started using in 1969. The hospital provided mental health evaluations at an off-site medical station at Logan International Airport in Boston and a Veterans Affairs hospital outside the city. “The system has proven to be feasible and acceptable to individuals and institutions in the community, providing psychiatric skills on a much wider scale, in a more accessible way, and faster than any other system,” researchers wrote in their analysis.</p>
<p>Telepsychiatry <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/1357633x9500100104">grew in the 1990s</a>, providing remote mental health services to patients <a href="https://doi.org/10.1089/153056203763317620">in rural areas</a>, many of whom were not able to travel long distances for in-person treatment. To transmit video and sound, the systems used various technologies, including closed-circuit television, high-frequency radio waves, fiber optics, coaxial cable and phone lines.</p>
<p>The use of medical videoconferencing <a href="https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.2018.12354">grew even more</a> in the 2000s, particularly in psychiatry. By then, some patients were seeing their doctors with TV-top boxes connecting their televsions to what was then called the World Wide Web. Patients <a href="https://doi.org/10.1258/135763302320272185">were generally satisfied</a> with virtual appointments, and researchers found telepsychiatry was just as effective <a href="https://doi.org/10.1089/tmj.2006.12.341">as face-to-face visits</a>, for both adults <a href="https://doi.org/10.1258/1357633001935086">and children</a>. And even as medical teleconferencing <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cbpra.2014.04.008">raised concerns</a> about patient privacy, doctor licensing and other legal issues, researchers <a href="https://doi.org/10.1089/tmj.2006.0073">took a fresh look</a> at the idea previously dismissed as “unwieldy, unreliable and unaffordable.” </p>
<h2>Enter COVID-19</h2>
<p>As the pandemic forced lockdowns around the country, health insurance companies quickly loosened restrictions and allowed doctors to <a href="https://www.medicare.gov/coverage/telehealth">provide care remotely</a>, regardless of geographical location. A variety of software programs, such as FaceTime, Skype and Zoom, <a href="https://www.hhs.gov/hipaa/for-professionals/special-topics/emergency-preparedness/notification-enforcement-discretion-telehealth/index.html">received approval for this purpose</a> under relaxed federal restrictions. </p>
<p>Acccording to a December 2021 report from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the number of Medicare-covered visits conducted remotely over video rose from approximately 840,000 in 2019 to <a href="https://www.hhs.gov/about/news/2021/12/03/new-hhs-study-shows-63-fold-increase-in-medicare-telehealth-utilization-during-pandemic.html">52.7 million in 2020</a>. Furthermore, almost all U.S. states relaxed medical licensing rules, allowing physicians to virtually see patients <a href="https://www.aamc.org/news-insights/what-happens-telemedicine-after-covid-19">across state lines</a>.</p>
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<img alt="An older Black woman sits on a sofa in her living room, looking at a laptop next to her, where her therapist is on the screen." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/456186/original/file-20220404-11-u8oatn.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/456186/original/file-20220404-11-u8oatn.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/456186/original/file-20220404-11-u8oatn.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/456186/original/file-20220404-11-u8oatn.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/456186/original/file-20220404-11-u8oatn.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/456186/original/file-20220404-11-u8oatn.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/456186/original/file-20220404-11-u8oatn.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">As the pandemic made remote videoconferencing a regular part of communicating with family and friends, patients became more comfortable and skilled in using telemedicine for their mental health care.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/senior-woman-on-a-video-call-with-her-therapist-royalty-free-image/1306154362">Marko Geber/DigitalVision via Getty Images</a></span>
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<h2>Built-in benefits</h2>
<p>Psychiatry calls for physical examination much less often than most other medical specialties, making it ideal for telemedicine. The pandemic also had a role in allaying previous concerns about patients’ being unable or unwilling to use video technology. As remote videoconferencing became a necessary and regular part of communication with workplaces, family members and friends, patients essentially trained themselves to use it in their mental health care.</p>
<p>Pandemic telehealth also solved one long-standing and seemingly intractable problem: that of patients forgetting or otherwise missing their appointments. A December 2021 study found that in pandemic-era telemedicine, the no-show rate at one Ohio clinic was only <a href="https://doi.org/10.1089/tmj.2021.0002">7.5%, compared with a 30% no-show rate</a> for in-person office visits before the pandemic. Where I work, our clinic’s own 30% missed-appointment rate dropped to almost zero. </p>
<p>The most obvious reason for that dramatic decline was that the appointments had become more convenient. Patients don’t have to take time off work, find a babysitter, fight traffic or take a bus. With a smartphone or laptop, they can see their psychiatrists or therapists from anywhere. They can have sessions while at home near their children. They can videoconference with mental health professionals during their lunch break at work, or even from their car in the parking lot. </p>
<p>This has turned out to be especially useful for people with complicated work schedules, like medical personnel and <a href="https://dx.doi.org/10.2196%2F22079">first responders</a> who are facing <a href="https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2020.02065">struggles of their own</a> during the pandemic. </p>
<h2>Here to stay</h2>
<p>Telepsychiatry has also opened a window into the home environments of patients. Seeing where and how they live gives therapists and psychiatrists important insights into a patient’s mental health needs. </p>
<p>Reaching clients at home can also be challenging: A patient of mine was a mom with a big family in a small house. She had to connect with me sitting in her bathroom in order to have privacy. With patients connecting from anywhere, there can be concerns about confidentiality, especially for those without access to private space. </p>
<p>Another issue is that for some patients, the easier access of telehealth can make their visits feel like a less serious routine task rather than treatment. My colleagues and I have had to warn patients not to connect with us while driving or shopping or while in the middle of a conversation with others. Some also had to be reminded to dress appropriately for their online appointments with us; a patient showed up onscreen in a bathrobe.</p>
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<p>And there are other glitches: Sound quality or other technical issues take time out of sessions to fix, or can’t be fixed at all. Some patients still aren’t familiar or comfortable with videoconferencing. Others did not have the necessary high-speed internet at home. For these patients, sessions often take place over the phone instead. Then we can’t see their nonverbal behavior, which is a part of assessing mental health conditions. But none of that changed the fact that telemedicine generally works for mental health care. </p>
<p>As COVID-19 restrictions have eased, some clinics are offering face-to-face visits again. Others are offering the option of in-person or video visits. I still see all my patients remotely, and only a couple have even brought up having sessions in person again. The pandemic gave telemedicine an opportunity to prove itself. And in psychiatry, at least, there’s more certainty about telemedicine’s place in the future of health care.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/177670/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Arash Javanbakht does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>By creating both an urgent need for mental health care and the need to prevent the spread of COVID-19, the pandemic is enabling telemedicine to go mainstream.Arash Javanbakht, Associate Professor of Psychiatry, Wayne State UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1723802021-12-10T13:37:33Z2021-12-10T13:37:33ZGot Zoom fatigue? Out-of-sync brainwaves could be another reason videoconferencing is such a drag<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/436504/original/file-20211208-15-iliwgf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C6173%2C4112&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Conversation in person usually feels effortless. Conversation over video? Not so much.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/stressed-business-woman-working-from-home-on-laptop-royalty-free-image/1249628154">nensuria/iStock via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>During the pandemic, video calls became a way for me to connect with my aunt in a nursing home and with my extended family during holidays. Zoom was how I enjoyed trivia nights, happy hours and live performances. As a university professor, Zoom was also the way I conducted all of my work meetings, mentoring and teaching. </p>
<p>But I often felt drained after Zoom sessions, even some of those that I had scheduled for fun. <a href="https://news.stanford.edu/2021/02/23/four-causes-zoom-fatigue-solutions/">Several well-known factors</a> – intense eye contact, slightly misaligned eye contact, being on camera, limited body movement, lack of nonverbal communication – contribute to Zoom fatigue. But I was curious about why conversation felt more laborious and awkward over Zoom and other video-conferencing software, compared with in-person interactions.</p>
<p>As a researcher who <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=8j4_-aYAAAAJ&hl=en">studies psychology and linguistics</a>, I decided to examine the impact of video-conferencing on conversation. Together with three undergraduate students, I ran <a href="https://doi.apa.org/doi/10.1037/xge0001150">two experiments</a>.</p>
<p>The first experiment found that response times to prerecorded yes/no questions more than tripled when the questions were played over Zoom instead of being played from the participant’s own computer. </p>
<p>The second experiment replicated the finding in natural, spontaneous conversation between friends. In that experiment, transition times between speakers averaged 135 milliseconds in person, but 487 milliseconds for the same pair talking over Zoom. While under half a second seems pretty quick, that difference is an eternity in terms of natural conversation rhythms.</p>
<p>We also found that people held the floor for longer during Zoom conversations, so there were fewer transitions between speakers. These experiments suggest that the natural rhythm of conversation is disrupted by videoconferencing apps like Zoom. </p>
<h2>Cognitive anatomy of a conversation</h2>
<p>I already had some expertise in studying conversation. Pre-pandemic, I conducted several experiments investigating how topic shifts and working memory load affect the timing of when speakers in a conversation take turns.</p>
<p>In that research, I found that <a href="https://cogsci.mindmodeling.org/2019/papers/0048/index.html">pauses between speakers were longer</a> when the two speakers were talking about different things, or if a speaker was distracted by another task while conversing. I originally became interested in the timing of turn transitions because planning a response during conversation is a complex process that people accomplish with lightning speed. </p>
<p>The average pause between speakers in two-party conversations is about one-fifth of a second. In comparison, it takes more than a half-second to <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/00140139508925238">move your foot from the accelerator to the brake</a> while driving – more than twice as long. </p>
<p>The speed of turn transitions indicates that listeners don’t wait until the end of a speaker’s utterance to begin planning a response. Rather, listeners simultaneously comprehend the current speaker, plan a response and predict the appropriate time to initiate that response. All of this multitasking ought to make conversation quite laborious, but it is not. </p>
<h2>Getting in sync</h2>
<p>Brainwaves are the rhythmic firing, or oscillation, of neurons in your brain. These oscillations may be one factor that helps make conversation effortless. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108610728">Several</a> <a href="https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03206432">researchers</a> have proposed that a neural oscillatory mechanism automatically synchronizes the firing rate of a group of neurons to the speech rate of your conversation partner. This oscillatory timing mechanism would relieve some of the mental effort in planning when to begin speaking, especially if it was <a href="https://doi.org/10.7554/eLife.68066">combined with predictions</a> about the remainder of your partner’s utterance.</p>
<p>While there are many open questions about how oscillatory mechanisms affect perception and behavior, there is <a href="https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2012.00320">direct</a> <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/nn.4186">evidence</a> for neural oscillators that track syllable rate when syllables are presented at regular intervals. For example, when you hear syllables four times a second, the electrical activity in your brain <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/nn.4186">peaks at the same rate</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/435178/original/file-20211201-15-how79x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A spectrograph of human speech with a rough sine wave overlaid on it" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/435178/original/file-20211201-15-how79x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/435178/original/file-20211201-15-how79x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=115&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/435178/original/file-20211201-15-how79x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=115&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/435178/original/file-20211201-15-how79x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=115&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/435178/original/file-20211201-15-how79x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=145&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/435178/original/file-20211201-15-how79x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=145&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/435178/original/file-20211201-15-how79x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=145&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">This acoustic spectrogram of the utterance ‘Do you think surfers are scared of being bitten by a shark?’ has an overlaid oscillatory function (blue wave). This shows that midpoints of most syllables (numbered hash marks) occur at or near the wave troughs, regardless of syllable length. The hash marks were generated with a Praat script written by deJong and Wempe.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Julie Boland</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>There is also evidence that <a href="https://doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780190618216.001.0001">oscillators can accommodate some variability</a> in syllable rate. This makes the notion that an automatic neural oscillator could track the fuzzy rhythms of speech plausible. For example, an oscillator with a period of 100 milliseconds could keep in sync with speech that varies from 80 milliseconds to 120 milliseconds per short syllable. Longer syllables are not a problem if their duration is a multiple of the duration for short syllables.</p>
<h2>Internet lag is a wrench in the mental gears</h2>
<p>My hunch was that this proposed oscillatory mechanism couldn’t function very well over Zoom due to variable transmission lags. In a video call, the audio and video signals are split into packets that zip across the internet. In our studies, each packet took around 30 to 70 milliseconds to travel from sender to receiver, including disassembly and reassembly.</p>
<p>While this is very fast, it adds too much additional variability for brainwaves to sync with speech rates automatically, and more arduous mental operations have to take over. This could help explain my sense that Zoom conversations were more fatiguing than having the same conversation in person would have been.</p>
<p><a href="https://doi.apa.org/doi/10.1037/xge0001150">Our experiments</a> demonstrated that the natural rhythm of turn transitions between speakers is disrupted by Zoom. This disruption is consistent with what would happen if the neural ensemble that <a href="https://doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780190618216.001.0001">researchers believe normally synchronizes with speech</a> fell out of sync due to electronic transmission delays. </p>
<p>Our evidence supporting this explanation is indirect. We did not measure cortical oscillations, nor did we manipulate the electronic transmission delays. Research into the connection between neural oscillatory timing mechanisms and speech in general <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s41583-020-0304-4">is promising</a> but not definitive.</p>
<p>Researchers in the field need to pin down an oscillatory mechanism for naturally occurring speech. From there, cortical tracking techniques could show whether such a mechanism is more stable in face-to-face conversations than with video-conferencing conversations, and how much lag and how much variability cause disruption. </p>
<p>Could the syllable-tracking oscillator tolerate relatively short but realistic electronic lags below 40 milliseconds, even if they varied dynamically from 15 to 39 milliseconds? Could it tolerate relatively long lags of 100 milliseconds if the transmission lag were constant instead of variable?</p>
<p>The knowledge gained from such research could open the door to technological improvements that help people get in sync and make videoconferencing conversations less of a cognitive drag.</p>
<p>[<em>Understand new developments in science, health and technology, each week.</em> <a href="https://theconversation.com/us/newsletters/science-editors-picks-71/?utm_source=TCUS&utm_medium=inline-link&utm_campaign=newsletter-text&utm_content=science-understand">Subscribe to The Conversation’s science newsletter</a>.]</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/172380/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Julie Boland does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>It appears that the rhythms of your brain waves get in sync with the speech patterns of the person you’re conversing with. Videoconferencing throws off that syncing process.Julie Boland, Professor of Psychology and Linguistics, University of MichiganLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1587012021-04-19T19:05:51Z2021-04-19T19:05:51ZZoom fatigue and distracted driving share a common problem: Multitasking<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/395837/original/file-20210419-13-1c5z3n5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=16%2C0%2C5447%2C3637&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Remote work — with its countless and never-ending online meetings — is taking its toll on employees. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Feeling exhausted at the end of a long day of video-conferencing? Do your back, shoulders and mind ache after a Zoom meeting marathon? Do you miss the morning chit chat at the office’s water fountain and the face-to-face interaction with your favourite colleague?</p>
<p>If you answered yes to any of these questions, believe me, you’re one of millions suffering from <a href="https://www.psychiatrictimes.com/view/psychological-exploration-zoom-fatigue">Zoom fatigue</a>, named after the popular video-conferencing app.</p>
<p>Recent figures in fact indicate that <a href="https://rh-us.mediaroom.com/2020-11-12-Nearly-4-In-10-Workers-Are-Suffering-From-Video-Call-Fatigue-Robert-Half-Research-Shows">four in 10 remote workers</a> report suffering from a sense of physical and mental exhaustion that accompanies the prolonged screen engagement and the lack of face-to-face interaction during the workday.</p>
<p>Women reportedly <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/13/us/zoom-fatigue-burn-out-gender.html">suffer even higher levels of stress during video-conferencing</a> relative to men. This is possibly <a href="http://doi.org/10.1037/tmb0000030">the result of mirror anxiety</a>, a phenomenon whereby seeing oneself in the mirror — or digitally as in the case of videocalls — triggers greater self-scrutiny.</p>
<p>With workplaces becoming increasingly virtual, my focus on understanding human cooperation with machines and systems contributes to understanding how human cognition responds to our increasingly virtual world.</p>
<h2>Drastic effects</h2>
<p>In March 2020 — <a href="https://www.who.int/director-general/speeches/detail/who-director-general-s-opening-remarks-at-the-media-briefing-on-covid-19---11-march-2020">when the World Health Organization declared the COVID-19 pandemic</a> — there was a sudden and drastic impact on work habits. Employers rushed to shift their workforce to teleworking globally, and even industries that historically relied on manual labour started pushing for more unmanned automation.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/covid-19-has-fuelled-automation-but-human-involvement-is-still-essential-153715">COVID-19 has fuelled automation — but human involvement is still essential</a>
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<p>Albeit the rush toward teleworking and <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/windsor/university-virtual-students-professors-windsor-1.5755690">virtual learning</a> has its advantages — think, for example, of how much shorter commutes are — it does not come without costs.</p>
<p>The clinical community has widely acknowledged the threat that Zoom fatigue poses to <a href="https://camh.echoontario.ca/COVID-Resources/zoom-fatigue/">mental health</a>, and a Google search for DIY remedies often turn up a handful of <a href="https://thriveglobal.com/stories/how-to-avoid-zoom-fatigue-while-working-from-home/">somewhat useful yet largely unproven interventions</a>, like packing daily videocalls together in one reserved time slot, or using headset rather than the computer’s built-in mic.</p>
<h2>Scales of measurement</h2>
<p>Zoom fatigue has become so prevalent that a group of scientists from the University of Gothenburg and Stanford University developed the <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3786329">Zoom Exhaustion and Fatigue Scale</a>. This scale might be used as an assessment tool to better understand the prevalence and magnitude of this condition.</p>
<p>The specific causes of Zoom fatigue are still unknown. Contributing factors include the worker’s urge to comply with proper “<a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/seven-rules-of-zoom-meeting-etiquette-from-the-pros-11594551601">Zoom etiquette</a>” and the impetus to multitask during video calls. This phenomenon, which is also common in <a href="https://doi.org/10.3758/s13423-015-0922-4">distracted driving</a>, is motivated by our tendency to stay active following boredom or perceived lulls in job performance.</p>
<p>Together, these circumstances lead to high levels of mental demand in the workplace which not only reduces productivity, but it also leads to <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/0018720820929928">greater muscle exertion and poor task performance</a>.</p>
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<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/fpMWtIYGLxc?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">PBS looks at how students are combating Zoom fatigue.</span></figcaption>
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<h2>Countering the effects</h2>
<p>Research on Zoom fatigue is growing, but little is known on how to fight it or, even better, prevent it.</p>
<p>Human-machine interaction studies suggest that <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/0018720820931628">tracking one’s eyes</a> or <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fnhum.2019.00057/full">physiological state</a> can help monitor the teleworker’s fluctuation in cognitive demand. This information can then be used to develop real-time Zoom fatigue detection algorithms, and alert the remote worker about its onset. </p>
<p>While the long-term effects of the <a href="https://www.kff.org/coronavirus-covid-19/issue-brief/the-implications-of-covid-19-for-mental-health-and-substance-use/">COVID-19 pandemic on mental health</a> are still unknown, it is not too far-fetched to anticipate that should this issue not get promptly addressed, it will add onto the mental and physical burden that COVID-19 will have had on teleworkers, and the population as a whole.</p>
<p>As workplaces become more virtual and <a href="https://theconversation.com/covid-19-has-fuelled-automation-but-human-involvement-is-still-essential-153715">machine operations more remote</a>, the need for a more <a href="https://www.hslab.org/what">cross-disciplinary approach that encompasses cognition, engineering and human kinetics</a> is needed, now more than ever.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/158701/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Francesco Biondi receives funding from the Canadian Tri-Council Research Fund.
</span></em></p>As remote work continues through the pandemic, workers are experiencing burnout and fatigue brought on by excessive periods of time spent online.Francesco Biondi, Assistant Professor, Human Kinetics, University of WindsorLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.