When all our interactions suddenly shifted from in-person to virtual in Spring 2020, I suspected it would stress-test our comfort with being seen and seeing others in a new way, but something else happened that I hadn’t anticipated: This experience over the last year-plus has made me a better, more confident teacher.
When the pandemic hit, I was teaching two Senior seminars at Barnard College of Columbia University. On our first Zoom call, I was struck by the glum expressions on my graduating seniors’ faces. They were ready to spread their wings and fly – and being back in their childhood bedrooms wasn’t what they had envisioned.
The sudden switch to remote meetings was jarring for everyone.
Early on, because of my research with mirrors and how we view our own reflections, several journalists tapped me for insights on how the loss of face-to-face interactions and increase in videoconferencing might affect us psychologically. For several years now, I’ve been using mirror meditation to help people overcome appearance-related self-criticism and get more comfortable with themselves in general. Viewing our reflections, I’ve found, can enhance awareness of our emotions and provide new, deep revelations about our emotions.
So when reporters began soliciting advice on how people should deal with seeing themselves on Zoom, I suggested they embrace it. We should all take time to look at ourselves with compassion before the call begins, I said. See others and let them see you – we’re all in this together.
Apparently, this wasn’t the desired response, as my suggestions were quickly drowned out by quick fixes to buffer the intimate intensity of the Zoom space – tips like “move further from the camera” and instructions for how to hide your own image.
Zoom fatigue has since received a great deal of attention – with the media focused on how exhausting it is to see too many faces, too close with full-frontal emotions and nonverbal cues out of context.
