newatlas.com: A new study led by researchers from Carnegie Mellon University is challenging the common assumption that video conferencing is better than audio-only communication for collaborative group activities. The findings suggest video cues may in fact lower a group’s collective intelligence by disrupting interpersonal synchrony.
16 comments:
Now that I think about it I do think that the video aspect of zoom is pretty distracting. I couldn't tell you why it's any more distracting than talking to someone face-to-face, because I'm no psychologist, but I know I find myself more distracted when there are videos on. I'm always looking from person to person and I find myself focusing more on what they look like and their background them what they're actually saying. I think that also has to do with eye contact since that is something that were missing in zoom. I also find myself looking at myself, and constantly analyzing what I look like, because I feel the need to present perfectly when I'm in class or in a meeting. So, then, I take up too much time fixing my hair and adjusting my lighting and then suddenly I haven't absorbed anything. I also think it's ridiculous to argue that people with their cameras off are not paying as much attention, because I know for a fact you can have your camera on, and be paying even less.
I think it is always interesting to read about research that is going hand in hand with what is happening in the world at large at the same time, because it presents really unique constraints on the research. Choosing to have your video on or off has become a very big topic it seems, because of the signals it sends to the people you are working with or in class with. A lot of people feel that having cameras off shows that you are not paying attention or off doing something else. Other people however recognize the plethora of reasons why someone might have their camera off, but they are still paying attention. I completely resonate with the findings of this study, because it can be really distracting to be looking at all the people on your screen. At the same time however, I think it can be really isolating to not be able to see people in class and I find myself not paying attention as much in that situation. I think it will be interesting to see further studies on this topic and see what is determined to be most effective.
This article rubs me the wrong way. Now that I’ve been in online classes for over a year, I can’t deny that zoom fatigue is real and that I am definitely retaining less information than
I used to. And similar to Jem, I too can get distracted by my own video. However, I can’t imagine replacing a video call with just a phone call. I am a very visual and tactile learner and communicator, so when I share information with a group I usually have sketches and models. It’s much easier for me to share and understand other’s ideas when they can show me something. There is so much visual information that is shared in our meeting format that I don’t think can be as effective in an audio only format. If this study is really true, it would mean that maybe Carnegie Scenic should rethink how we budget. The shift to having budgeting meetings only be 2 hours long was definitely useful to our productivity. It would be interesting to try a budgeting meeting where all the documentation is shared beforehand and we scroll through documents independently while listening to each other. It would definitely make us improve our explanation skills and having drawings that have as much information as possible.
I actually heard about this study prior to reading the article and thought it was funny and cool that it came from Carnegie Mellon. In our classes, I have seen the full spectrum of thoughts on video for classes. In global histories lectures, we are not able to turn our video on, in recitation, we have to unless we are having bandwidth issues, and in some classes the policy is more please keep it on but take breaks if you need to which is my favorite of the policies. I do think outside of zoom classes, some meetings are happening when they could take place over email so audio only might be progress in that case. I do feel zoom fatigue. After a long day starting at 8am and getting off of Zoom production call at 10:30pm, it was a lot. I shifted the blue light to be turned down on my laptop 24 hours a day now. I appreciate having video on and seeing people I know. I do think it increases collaborating, but I also find it challenging to do the entire time. Every time someone moves, it is easy to follow that, but we should not recommend not moving. There is the option to put it in speaker view, but sometimes it is nice to see the class. I do think Jem and Bridget both make really good points. I get worried about how I look but am also too nervous about how I look to hide self view. It is a messy situation on all fronts and I am looking forward to when it can be more of a hybrid of in person and video calls.
I have mixed feelings about the findings in this article. While zoom fatigue is 100% real, I can’t say that audio-only calls would be very beneficial in an educational setting. Yes, video can be very distracting at times, and I fully understand when the article mentions that non-verbal cues can allow for one person to end up dominating a conversation. However, many students, including myself, are visual learners. I can’t imagine being on an audio-only call for school and getting anything really beneficial out of class. At the same time, not having video in class also gives students a chance to simply not pay attention to the class which I believe is a concern for many professors who require cameras to be on at all times. I could see audio-only calls being better than video calls for a professional workplace, but in a school setting, I think video is an important part of “zoom school”, especially in the school of drama where a lot of our work is visual.
Not sure how sold I am on the concept of a group IQ (attempting to quantify productivity, intelligence, or efficacy just never sits right with me), but after a year of Zoom School (tm) I think I agree with the point the researchers have come to. One thing that sometimes makes audio only communication easier is that there's less energy wasted (at least on my part) on 'performing' for the camera, feeling like you're always being watched, or just staring at your own zoom square for hours on end. It's quite hard to stop watching your own Zoom square which feels narcissistic to admit, but I think it's the same idea as glancing at your reflection in any window you might pass by on the street. But now we have a window framing our faces for hours a day. Audio only communications also sometimes come with less lag or latency, which makes for smoother conversations.
I think that regardless of if it's counterproductive, there is something very helpful about seeing the people you are having a conversation with. I understand the science behind the titular statement, and I agree we should be taking these facts into consideration for future occasions. With that said, there are instances in which seeing other people is just generally good. Personally, I feel less alone when I am seeing someone from a screen that is “live” and that is more present at that moment than someone from something pre-recorded like a movie or a television show. But there is also “zoom fatigue”. Like many of my peers and perhaps even my professors, being on zoom is exhausting. Even listening to a lecture with a camera on, knowing that others are inside your space, potentially always watching you, is a different type of exhaustion. I dare even say more tolling than physically attending said class.
I’m still trying to fully form my opinion on this article– it doesn’t quite sit right with me. I think this is mainly because in comparing my classes, the ones where most of my classmates and I have our cameras turned on have cultivated much stronger connections between us by actually being able to chat face to face (before class starts, for example). I can’t imagine doing all of my classes with no one having their cameras on; I think there would be a distinct lack of connection? I won’t deny zoom fatigue, and like Jem said, it can definitely be exhausting to be on camera for hours a day. I think this is an article that is directed towards the corporate world more than the educational world– it would be interesting to see some similar studies done but in a class setting. Would the results be different? Would students do better or worse in classes if classes were audio only?
Like many above me, I too have mixed feelings about the findings of this article. While I do believe that sometimes having video on can be distracting, make you self-conscious, or hinder work, I also believe that there are some learning settings where it is beneficial. I think the best thing to take away from this study is that video is not necessarily needed for coherent and intelligent conversation and learning to occur. Everyone has a different style and every subject has a different feel. In some classes, it feels natural to have your camera on and interact with peers but for others, it can feel unnecessary and burdensome. It can make you feel watched or observed at all times. The thing that I think this study found that needs to be articulated and underlined is that there should be a choice. If there is no empirical data to suggest that in all or most scenarios there is a correlation between having video on and greater collaborative performance then it should not be a requirement for class. Forcing a learning style on every student as if they interact and need the same things is something we should know better than to do by now.
Interesting information about the effects of video conferencing on group psyche. Both the zoom fatigue study and this study argue that it’s better for people if they don’t have to stare at a screen the whole time, one study even suggesting doing something else helps you focus on the audio. From the perspective of problem-solving one on one, the study showed that video off is better, but so far, there has not been much of that in my school experience, so I’m curious if that scales to large groups (like meetings.) It’s interesting as well because we have software now that’s touted specifically for communicating more effectively, but this study is showing a phone call is just as effective. Another interesting thing that this study may or may not scale to is participation in class and having your camera on and how that is affected. People have been turning off their cameras more and more as the semester has been progressing.
This article was really interesting to me, however I don't really understand the idea of group intelligence/IQ. I wish this would've been more of a study on listening to information presented to you if your camera is on in front of a whole group vs off. For me personally, I struggle a lot with being on camera all the time. One reason is that I feel like I'm always "on". In my mind, I can't really move a lot, and I always have to be reacting because I'm worried somebody is watching me. The other reason I struggle with being on camera is that I feel like I am inviting my whole zoom class into my room or living room. School becomes my home in a sense.
I am glad that genuine research is going on around this issue, I just hope that people listen to it. I am always appreciative of professors who don't require videos, but I do wonder how it would make them feel to always teach to an empty room. I also understand that some people really like to see who they're talking to, to who's talking to them, which is why I'm a big proponent of turning your camera on when speaking.
This study seems so poorly planned, and I just have so many holes to poke at it. First of all, in a lecture setting, god is it awful to talk to a panel of blank screens. It is so useful to have cameras to give be able to give near-instant feedback (and it helps verify people are paying attention). Second of all, I play dnd online, and as the DM, I expect my players to have cameras on because it helps convey tone and mood when roleplaying to see facial expressions, and it helps me know if they’re talking in character or out of character. Also, like real quick I do not understand how cameras on makes people more likely to dominate the conversation. Like what is this study doing. I think in certain situations (like the very specific one in this study), where its 2-3 people all working on something that they need to look at, yeah don’t bother with face cams especially if it takes half your screen. Otherwise have your camera on, and just turn off your zoom square for you so you’re not distracted by your bad hair.
I’ve noticed much more this semester than last how sidetracked the “video” feature of Zoom gets me. Not only because I got a haircut I didn’t particularly like, but I have been finding myself having my video off much more often during classes. It feels like I can focus more because I can kind of multitask. I also can get very focused on how I look and if I look OK for human consumption and that gets me anxious and unfocused as well. I think overall, I gotta agree. Having my camera off has been better for me in classes and in meetings, whether I knew the exact reasons or numbers cited from a study or not. At least now I feel like I have some real reasons to continue going this way.
Although this article seems to advocate to get rid of video chat conferences entirely, I think that it is important to have some face-to-face interaction. I think a voice call every once in a while could be refreshing, but imagine if that was the whole year! As a freshman, I’d have no clue what my classmates or professors looked like, and I’d struggle to put a face to a name. This article also had me thinking about how discord could have been such a great conference app to use during this pandemic as it is pretty superior to zoom. It allows for a lot more customization within calls that zoom does not allow for, which I think is ridiculous at this point. It doesn’t even include the option to change the volume of individual participants on ones computer, making me manually adjust my volume accordingly to everyone’s mic volume. It makes me wonder why the universal standard suddenly became zoom, which I had not even heard of before this pandemic.
First I want to start off by saying it is so fun and great that this is from a research study at Carnegie Mellon. Anyway, I thought that this was pretty interesting adding on to a different article I had read on news quiz a few months ago. There was an article that discussed the effects of zoom fatigue, and that Having to constantly be "on" and smiling at your colleagues is a factor of such exhaustion. Especially having to look at yourself, you become super conscious of how you appear and present yourself. I wonder if having your video off allows people to become less focused on themselves and how they are perceived and more about their work. But I still think there are definitely beneficial factors to being able to see one another during a collaborative meeting. This way you can see people's instant reaction to ideas and understand their enthusiasm a lot more.
My immediate thought when seeing this article on the green page was, ohh this must be click bait. I mean everywhere that I have heard so far engagement and interaction is boosted when camera’s are on. Advocating for the lack of video altogether is obviously very different. I mean my own interaction tells me that when I don’t have my camera on on zoom my engagement and ability to connect to whatever’s going on significantly drops. It’s like when you're a little kid and the teacher leaves the room to do something just telling you to continue working its hard to stay self motivated to continue being engaged in the meeting. I mean I know being at home if my camera was off all the time in the meeting I would be tempted to try and work on my HW or my other work, emails. Also the lack of feedback from people being able to see and “feel” people’s mood is much harder on essentially a phone call.
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