Research reveals the strange effects that Zoom calls have on the brain affecting human behavior

The COVID-19 pandemic normalized working from home, e-learning, and even online consultations with doctors, all of which were facilitated via video calling platforms such as Zoom. But even after relying on video calling for years, the idea of interacting online remains an awkward affair. In a recent development, researchers at Yale University have found out that our brains don't process Zoom conversations in the same way as face-to-face conversations and that's why people tend to act strange while interacting online, reported Science Alert.

The experiment involved 28 healthy volunteers who went through functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS), electroencephalography (EEG), and were tested using eye-tracking technology to understand the brain's response to both Zoom calls and in-person meetings.

The team further compared the results of pairs taking part in live face-to-face conversations to those of Zoom users having video calls. For comparison without social biases or changing familiarity, the partners for conversations were kept the same and each pair completed the same tasks during the interactions.

It was discovered that in comparison to Zoom interactions, face-to-face discussions coincided with an increase in brain signals in a critical area called the dorsal-parietal region. Specifically, when people talked to each other face-to-face, brain wave activity showed theta oscillations, which are linked to better facial processing. Activity in brain regions associated with sensory processing and spatial perception also indicated more contrast observed in real-life interactions, and eye tracking showed longer eye contact periods.

Joy Hirsch, a neuroscientist and senior author of the published paper, pointed out, "The social systems of the human brain are more active during real live in-person encounters than on Zoom." He added, "Online representations of faces, at least with current technology, do not have the same 'privileged access' to social neural circuitry in the brain that is typical of the real thing."

To conclude the experiment, Hirsch noted, "The dynamic and natural social interactions that occur spontaneously during in-person interactions appear to be less apparent or absent during Zoom encounters," He ended by saying, "This is a really robust effect."

The online community also shared their experiences of talking via Zoom with some even pointing out bizarre details they noticed during a video conference. A Reddit post shared by u/GingerDan123 with the caption "What's the most awkward thing you've had happen on Teams/Zoom calls since working from home started?" addressed this issue. The user narrated, "As an example, our HR was doing a whole company meeting about a new process, and all of a sudden all you heard was someone sighs and say 'hooray so fucking interesting' whilst clearly not realizing they were unmuted. A few excuses and awkward moments followed and she quit within the week. Any others?"

In response, u/adamneigeroc commented, "Someone was tuning their guitar and forgot to go on mute. Plenty of “oh FFS.” Another user, u/Pyntie_Hets, added, "I left my mic on in a 6-way conversation with my boss and operations manager, and said some mean words about her, the operations manager. Had to quit really."