If you’re sick and tired of ‘Zoom fatigue’ from all the videoconferencing calls you’ve been having, you might want to start using nature-based virtual backgrounds to decrease the fatigue effect—this is from a study published in Frontiers in Psychology.
Since the start of the global health crisis lockdowns in 2020, we have started relying on Zoom and other video conferencing apps and platforms (including Google Meet, Microsoft Teams, or Skype) to connect and talk to anyone worldwide, whether for work or school.
However, along with this convenience, there is an unexpected downside to this form of communication: it can lead to tiredness, anxiety, and burnout due to using the platform, generally called Zoom fatigue (aka videoconferencing fatigue or VF), named after the most popular videoconferencing app at the time.
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Researchers Benjamin J. Li and Heng Zhang of Singapore’s Nanyang Technological University (NTU) published a paper investigating possible links between the type and content of virtual background callers use during videoconferences.
They surveyed 610 videoconferencing tool users and revealed significant variations in the content and type of virtual backgrounds used. The survey concluded that nature-based backgrounds are more beneficial for your work and may result in less Zoom fatigue or VF than other background types. On the other hand, moving video backgrounds is the worst choice.
So, if you want less Zoom fatigue, use nature backgrounds during your conference calls, like forests, mountains, or beaches.