Sept 7th, 2020: Zooming Fatigue
Zooming has been the keyword for many business meetings. At first, it was new and exciting because it provided us access to people when we could not meet together. However, as the pandemic drags on, many of us begin to experience the "Zoom Fatigue Phenomenon". It is not because we don't want o talk to co-workers or family members. It is just far more tiring than we first anticipated. Why?
Nothing can replace seeing people and having a conversation with them in person. It is about growing our relationships with people, and that requires a human touch and real presence. There are feelings that we can only express when we are with one another physically. It is like watching a movie, suddenly there is no sound, and we are trying to make sense of what we are seeing.
Our brains have to work a lot harder during a zoom meeting. We see a lot more, and yet we don't have the same comprehension. Being with people mentally and not physically is quite taxing that way. When a zoom meeting is over, we have a lot of work to do, and we don't feel that we were together. It is also like receiving an encrypted note from someone sometimes because we don't fully understand what other people are saying by missing their complete body language.
It is not that all exciting looking at our faces all the time. There might be some negative thoughts, and that can be a distraction. We have to look at the screen constantly, and that is tiring too. We don't want to appear as if we are not paying attention by looking at something else in the room. Sometimes people might wonder whether we are listening to what they have to say or we check out.
Finally, unexpected interruptions can be stressful as well. I ran into this often in conversations with single parents during the first three months of the pandemic. First, they never feel that they are ready in terms of their appearance. Secondly, they never prepare for what their kids might do next in front of the camera. Lastly, they were panic and turn the zoom off.
Some of us might feel as if our prayer time is like zooming with God sometimes. We don't always feel his presence. Our relationships with him are spotty. We tried very hard to understand Him, but sometimes our hearts and our spirits are distant from Him. We feel like we have a lot of work to do, and He is not with us. We read the Bible, and it is foreign to us. Sometimes, we don't feel that we are ready to be with Him. We pray only to end up listening to ourselves talk.
1 Corinthians 3:16
"Do you not know that you are a temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?"
Deuteronomy 31: 8
"The Lord is the one who goes ahead of you; He will be with you. He will not fail you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed."
