videoconferencing

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. But I often felt drained after Zoom sessions, even some of those that I had scheduled for fun. Several well-known factors – 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. As a researcher who studies psychol...

If, before COVID-19, you were concerned about all the data that technology companies had about you, just wait. As stay-at-home orders push more professional and social activities online, it’s becoming harder to remain in control. Look no further than Zoom, which suffered dual security and privacy crises in the past few weeks. Lawsuits alleging data sharing violations and hackers have descended on the software, which has led Google and school districts to ban Zoom for professional use. I’m a researcher who investigates how these concerns affect the use of online platforms. The first thing to understand is that privacy and security are two different things, and they have different consequences for using videoconferencing platforms. Privacy versus security Privacy refers to individuals’ uni...