Zoomers, Are You Staring At Yourself? That’s Normal And Stressful

I would bet that at least 90 percent of the people reading this today probably had not heard of Zoom, or Microsoft Teams a year ago. Now, out of necessity, it's taken over our lives.

Schools are closed. Zoom. Work from home. Teams. Wedding day planned for May 2020. Zoom again; or maybe Facebook Live, or Apple's Facetime or Skype.

I don't know about you, but when I'm doing Facetime, I do look at the person I'm talking to, but most of the call, I'm staring at myself. For me, specifically, I'm staring at my nose, and thinking, dear God, it's enormous. (Calm down, it's the angle and the lighting, but it tends to dominate my concentration.)

So a couple of days ago, I saw this article that pretty much confirms what I just said. All this video conferencing is creating even more stress than what we're already getting from the world around us. One interesting point in it is, if you're staring at yourself, you're overwhelmed. Some of it stems from lack of control. In real life, you don't see yourself when you interact. So in this virtual setting, you're already starting at a disadvantage, in that, looking at yourself, at the very least, is a distraction.

Another point is all this video conferencing is bringing back a common insecurity, that "everyone is staring at me". Well, of course, they are. It's the nature of these video conferences. But remind yourself, could it be that everyone else is feeling the same insecurity you are?

And then, don't get me started on having to look interested or nod every so often. I've dealt with this all my life. I am not a smiler, and I had a pokerface a long time before Lady Gaga. But add the stress of having to look interested, too.

Is there any good news. Well, if and when we get back to "normal", there will be less of these conferences. We hope.