Zoom fatigue is a term that I just recently discovered, and I can confidently say almost all students are feeling some form of zoom fatigue. Zoom fatigue is a term used to describe the tiring and exhausting effect that the countless video calls have on students. Many people have struggled since moving to online learning, especially with their mental health. In this blog I’m going to go into more of the specifics of zoom fatigue and how it’s effecting students across the country.

People are tired of the constant zoom calls and the effects it has on them. Online conference calls never used to play an enormous part in the average student’s lives, and now it is a part of their everyday routine. The effects of this routine aren’t small, and in fact are being felt by countless students. Mental health is always important for a person, and unfortunately a major part of zoom fatigue is the harm it does to people’s mental health. Last Summer in June a survey done on higher education resulted in around 75% of participants saying they felt more anxious and stressed because of online learning. That’s an alarming number and clearly shows there is a significant issue going on.

Now I want to discuss some aspects of online learning that cause zoom fatigue and hurt our mental health. A big one is obviously the lack of social interaction. I’ve already touched on this before, so I won’t go into a lot of detail, but not interacting with other people is always terrible for a person’s mental health. There are a lot of aspects of social interactions that are lost over video calls. It’s significantly harder to pick up on social cues and there’s really no eye contact, two things that allow people to be more comfortable and understanding in a situation. Another one is the lack of moving around, and the ability to stay in one place and take all your classes. Typically, students will go from class to class, interacting with different people, now they are stuck staring at a teacher on a screen all the time.

Zoom fatigue is having many negative effects on people’s mental health. One negative effect that I want to highlight in particular is lack of motivation. People get caught up in the monotony of online learning and being inside all the time, and it creates more of a hopeless attitude towards everyday life. Instead of going out and being proactive, people find it easier to sleep in, take class half paying attention, and do little to nothing all day. This isn’t the case for everyone, but now is a time that more and more people are susceptible to getting trapped in a hopeless mindset, and honestly it makes sense. Over the last year or so, our entire lives have been significantly changed. Whether it was a job set up, or a trip being cancelled, people have had to deal with uncertainty and being let down. It’s a tough time to be alive, and the effects of zoom fatigue don’t make life any easier.

I want to close this blog out by putting an emphasis on mental health. Mental health is nothing to joke about, and if you’re struggling with too much stress, anxiety or depression reach out to someone. Whether it’s a friend, family member, or professional seek help because these types of issues are extremely serious. If you’re at all feeling hopeless, just know there are better days ahead and try to keep your head up and maintain a positive attitude because for many of us that’s all we can do right now.

Sources:

https://www.upbeacon.com/article/2020/10/zoom-fatigue-and-all-nighters-online-learning-takes-a-toll-on-students-mental-health