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The fatiguing effects of camera use in virtual meetings

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Re: The fatiguing effects of camera use in virtual meetings

#141

Post by varispeed »

andrewzah wrote: post #125

It’s interesting how people here are adamant that camera usage [all the time] is important or necessary. It isn’t. It's an opinion, and in my opinion, a bad one that isn't justified by anything. At my company we only use them if necessary, and I’ve been with them for over 3 years working remotely. We get work done quite well. edit: update wording for clarity

We only use it for introductions and when someone has something to show, e.g. their pet.

Unfortunately a new manager insists that everyone should have cameras switched on for "human connection" and so that people feel more integrated.

Re: The fatiguing effects of camera use in virtual meetings

#142

Post by prepend »

I hate having my camera on, but leave it on all the time as it helps others in the meeting understand me.

Not only to tell when I’m muted and speaking, but when I’m about to speak or am confused.

It also shows when I’m bored and distracted. I’d rather the others know I’m distracted than not know and assume they have my attention.

The way I think about it is imagining live meetings where people have boxes over their heads. For me, it’s not a question about wanting to have my camera on, it’s about professional conduct. I mean, I don’t want to go to work either, but I do.

Re: The fatiguing effects of camera use in virtual meetings

#144

Post by piva00 »

Jenk wrote: post #94
piva00 wrote: post #47

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Rude? Have you considered the other side? I'm extremely fatigued by having the camera on, I feel surveilled and every movement I do in front of it is calculated by my unconscious mind. It takes a real toll on my productivity having to have the camera on for a string of meetings. I feel it's extremely rude to dismiss others' experiences with the damn camera on for a virtual meeting. What is up that you need someone el…

do you just melt when in the office?

No, I like offices, I'm a very outspoken and outgoing person, I enjoy social interactions. I don't like a camera pointing at my face.

It's not that difficult to see that this is a very different experience than sharing an office. And I'm tired of repeating this.

Re: The fatiguing effects of camera use in virtual meetings

#145

Post by [deleted] »

Gigachad wrote: post #34
lucumo wrote: post #25

> following a day of virtual meetings I've done full days of real meetings. Those were exhausting and very draining. I'm surprised that anybody would expect anything different from virtual meetings. I have noticed that it's harder to feel people as fully human when they're little 2D movies. Even moreso when they're disembodied voices. It's less so when I've met the people IRL. I'm guessing I can then link their image…

Personally I have started leaving the camera on because it’s incredibly tempting to just use my phone and tune out with the camera off. I have also noticed that camera off people tend to speak a lot less than those with it on.

[deleted]

Re: The fatiguing effects of camera use in virtual meetings

#146

Post by prepend »

andrewzah wrote: post #125

It’s interesting how people here are adamant that camera usage [all the time] is important or necessary. It isn’t. It's an opinion, and in my opinion, a bad one that isn't justified by anything. At my company we only use them if necessary, and I’ve been with them for over 3 years working remotely. We get work done quite well. edit: update wording for clarity

Your anecdote doesn’t seem to convey that camera usage is not important, but it does show that it’s not necessary.

It’s possible, I’d guess likely, that you’ve been able to get work done well in spite of no cameras.

Of course, I doubt anyone would do an experiment to see if your statement is true or not.

I just thought that your statement seemed so absolute but the evidence you present isn’t.

Re: The fatiguing effects of camera use in virtual meetings

#147

Post by piva00 »

crubier wrote: post #100
piva00 wrote: post #47

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Rude? Have you considered the other side? I'm extremely fatigued by having the camera on, I feel surveilled and every movement I do in front of it is calculated by my unconscious mind. It takes a real toll on my productivity having to have the camera on for a string of meetings. I feel it's extremely rude to dismiss others' experiences with the damn camera on for a virtual meeting. What is up that you need someone el…

If other participants having a tiny 200px image of you (among 6 other people) in the corner of their screen is extremely fatiguing to you, how does it work when you go to the office ? Do you get seizures after 15min of in-person meeting ? Panic attacks ? How did you deal with life 5 years ago ? Going from mostly physical office to mostly work-from-home on zoom is already a massive change that gives a lot of comfort t…

No, I like offices, I'm a very outspoken and outgoing person, I enjoy social interactions. I don't like a camera pointing at my face. It's not that difficult to see that this is a very different experience than sharing an office. And I'm tired of repeating this.

This is the 3rd time I'm replying that I feel that the experience of a camera is very different than real life interactions and I like real life interactions, I'm getting really exhausted of this non-sequitur being repeated...

Re: The fatiguing effects of camera use in virtual meetings

#148

Post by charcircuit »

Lutger wrote: post #98
kodah wrote: post #44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Some context: I'm a lead engineer on a team with six products. I keep my camera off in meetings. I'm in far more meetings than I can possibly be productive in. I'm also usually not the active speaker in meetings. Why stare into a camera when what my yearly bonuses are calculated on is work/team output? I've found most meetings I get into are either: - Developers who can't figure something out from documentation and a…

The perceived the need to keep the camera off during a meeting is a good indication there is something wrong with the meeting, not that it's a good thing to keep the camera off. We had some recurring meetings where people consistently didn't show up. The managers first impulse was to make the meeting mandatory. But the first thought should be: why are people not showing up? Engineers hate being unproductive, it shoul…

Coming from the the game modding scene meetings never have webcams. It's always just voice calls. Using a video camera is such a foreign idea to me. I don't even own a web camera for my PC. Another weird thing to me is people using other's real names. It's just taboo to use people's real names instead of their screen names. Even my boss and the owners of the company I refer to by their screen name.

Re: The fatiguing effects of camera use in virtual meetings

#149

Post by healsjnr1 »

theelous3 wrote: post #115
Lutger wrote: post #98

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The perceived the need to keep the camera off during a meeting is a good indication there is something wrong with the meeting, not that it's a good thing to keep the camera off. We had some recurring meetings where people consistently didn't show up. The managers first impulse was to make the meeting mandatory. But the first thought should be: why are people not showing up? Engineers hate being unproductive, it shoul…

> Turning the camera off is just a socially acceptable way of not showing up. Why do you think that someone with a camera off is not present? How can you honestly equate camera-off with absence? > There are exceptions of course imo it's the opposite. Rarely to never does it matter if you see my face in a meeting. It's an exceedingly rare exception that you should need to as a business requirement. Have you considered…

> Have you considered that... _you_ just like having your camera on, and like seeing other people?

Yes, I think this is the whole point here. This is a bidirectional relationship.

We all have biases, and for a lot of people wanting some physical concept of the person they are working with is one of them, so yeah, they might just like seeing your face.

It's your prerogative to turn it off, but there is a very real chance this will impact your relationship with other people.

The biggest change for me is that I now hide my self video 100% of the time. I can't see myself in an irl meeting, so I don't need to see myself online either.

Don't this kind of makes the whole problem go away.

Re: The fatiguing effects of camera use in virtual meetings

#150

Post by prepend »

piva00 wrote: post #47
jacobmischka wrote: post #43

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's extremely rude in my opinion when people simply don't turn their cameras on in virtual meetings. Unfortunately, no one at my workplace except me does.

Rude? Have you considered the other side? I'm extremely fatigued by having the camera on, I feel surveilled and every movement I do in front of it is calculated by my unconscious mind. It takes a real toll on my productivity having to have the camera on for a string of meetings. I feel it's extremely rude to dismiss others' experiences with the damn camera on for a virtual meeting. What is up that you need someone el…

Do you feel this during in person meetings? Where you are constantly surveilled and every movement you make watched?

You feel this way shopping in the grocery store? Where the cashier is constantly looking at you when speaking? Is your productivity lower because the other people in the store can see you?

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