This study explores Indian university students’ experiences with Zoom fatigue in synchronous online classes, identifying various physical, cognitive, and emotional challenges, and emphasizes the need to address these issues to improve the sustainability and effectiveness of virtual learning.
Authors
Karishma Godara, Assistant Professor, Jindal School of Psychology & Counselling, O.P. Jindal Global University, Sonipat, Haryana, India
Nisha Phakey, Assistant Professor, Jindal School of Psychology & Counselling, O.P. Jindal Global University, Sonipat, Haryana, India
Krishan Kumar Pande, Professor, Jindal Global Business School, O.P. Jindal Global University, Sonipat, Haryana, India
Summary
Despite the great feasibility of video conferencing platforms, concerns regarding Zoom fatigue, the exhaustion experienced after prolonged virtual meetings, arise. Although often examined from a quantitative standpoint, there remains a significant lack of qualitative exploration of Zoom fatigue.
Objective
This study aimed to explore Indian university students’ qualitative experiences with synchronous classes and zoom fatigue.
Method
Thematic Analysis (TA) was used to analyze in-depth interviews of 24 university students (age = 20.38 ± 1.74, 15 females) enrolled in synchronous courses, i.e. online courses attended by students at the same time they are delivered.
Results
Nine primary themes and ten sub-themes were identified by study participants for zoom-delivered courses: (i) beyond screen time; (ii) physical issues; (iii) anxiety; (iv) cognitive difficulties (difficulty in sustaining attention and remembering, multi-tasking, and distraction); (v) experiencing awkwardness (turn-taking and interruption, eye-contact, self-consciousness, and home environment); (vi) technological barriers and discomforts; (vii) lack of sympathy from instructors and administration (regarding self and family’s health and regarding technical glitches); (viii) mixed feelings toward instructors (ineffective teaching pedagogy and gratitude and admiration for instructors); and (ix) feeling gratitude.
Conclusion
Participants in this study were generally fatigued and dissatisfied with the experience of zoom-delivered classes. Addressing factors contributing to zoom fatigue can ensure the sustainability and effectiveness of synchronous learning.
Published in: Fatigue: Biomedicine, Health and Behavior
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