Looking at your face during a video conference causes mental stress, research shows

Galloway: A study on brain activity has shown that looking at your face during a video conference causes mental stress.

Researchers at the University of Galloway in Ireland found in a study that people who participated in a meeting held on Zoom or Teams were more tired when they saw themselves on the screen.

In a previous study, it was reported that women are more stressed than men when looking at a picture of themselves during a video conference. In contrast, a recent study revealed that men and women are equally tired of looking at their own image.

The team of researchers conducted an experiment using electroencephalography (EEG) on 32 volunteers (16 men and 16 women). All these individuals participated in a live Zoom meeting at different times with and without self-view mode.

The researchers said that EEG non-invasively records electrical activity in the brain using electrodes placed on the head and can mark the onset of mental activity.

Monitoring confirmed that participants were significantly more alert when they could see their picture.

Professor Owen Whelan from the university said that the use of video conferencing platforms increased during the lockdown. These platforms are still widely used for work and education, but people often share their work in video conference meetings.