The cursor hovers over the link. A momentary flash of a loading symbol. We await the familiar blue, rectangular pop-up and take a deep breath.
“Waiting for the host to start this meeting,” reads the black letters pasted across the screen.
It is the second class of the day and the 14th meeting of the week - all encapsulated into a digital reality bounded by pixelated walls and automated chat rooms. More importantly, it’s the impending doom of an unexpected challenge growing and taking over the minds of college students, parents, preschoolers and teachers alike. It is the inescapable struggle of Zoom fatigue.
Over the course of the last two months, as students and teachers began settling into the unusual nature of an online learning environment, the effects of extended screen time and continuous meetings have become widely known. Headaches, exhaustion, anxiousness, stress and an inability to focus are among its subtle yet stubborn symptoms.
“My eyes honestly have been bothering me lately, and I think it’s from staring at the screen for hours,” said Arjun Bulusu, a sophomore majoring in Computer Science and Business Administration. “I’m considering getting blue light glasses. All my roommates have been getting them simply because of these Zoom classes.”
When USC first announced its move toward online fall instruction in a letter addressed to the Trojan Community on July 1, the notion of a semester on Zoom was not entirely unknown.
Virtual classes and work-at-home already solidified as fundamental pieces of our so-called “new normal.” The preceding two-and-a-half months of in-person classes, which allowed students to develop relationships with professors and become familiar with their classroom settings, seemed to have made the transition easier.
“[Last semester,] we started out in person and kind of formed those classroom relationships with our teachers and our classmates, and were able to kind of put a face to what we saw on Zoom when we switched online,” said Jolie Goldberg, a senior majoring in Business Administration.
With time, however, the narrative has changed, and it seems to have struck a common chord for many: a life on Zoom and its ensuing fatigue is draining, non-stop and can take a toll on both our mental and physical health. What was once time spent conversing with new classmates, collaborating over group projects and meeting across campus has been ushered onto a 2D grid of faces and profile pictures. In-person Trojan Talks, afternoons spent at Leavey library, spotting friends outside of Seeds and other simplicities of on-campus life feel like faraway memories.
Madeline Walker, a sophomore majoring in Human Biology, at first enjoyed the leisurely routine of being able to take classes from her bed or couch. Her excitement surrounding this new lifestyle only lasted for the first week of the semester. Not only did staring at a screen all day for both classes and homework prove to be tiring, but a lack of social interaction and confinement to a small apartment with five other roommates made it difficult for her to concentrate and relieve stress.
“I have definitely found it difficult to stay productive and motivated,” Walker wrote in an email to Annenberg Media. “What is so great about being in person is that you are constantly surrounded by people who are motivated to succeed. While my roommates and I are all doing our best to motivate one another, it is always nice having the option to study in a library, cafe, or outdoor seating area with other people.”
Goldberg also struggled with the challenges of being confined to a small space. She too misses the optionality of changing her study location, along with time spent walking to class.
“When your bedroom and your hang out space turns into your classroom all at one, it kind of loses some of that excitement,” said Goldberg. “It’s always nice to be in different buildings and walk into different classrooms and have [that] physical component to it.”
Not only are classes prided for their hands-on, interactive learning opportunities difficult to replicate within an online curriculum, but simply the nature of lectures has shifted as well.
“Even when I’m lecturing, usually I’m on the stage and moving around and going into the audience. And so this is really different for me too. And I can feel, you know, after a lecture, when I’m in person, I tend to get really energized from it,” said Jenny Lin, associate professor of Critical Studies at the Roski School of Art. “Whereas with Zoom, I get really tired and drained. So I imagine that my students who are doing it all day, it’s even worse for them.”
Ghalib Ashai, a junior majoring in journalism, has also felt this shift within the virtual classroom. “It felt like classes had more of a sense of community than they do this year. This year it just feels like we were thrown in and kinda just makes school less motivating in general.”
When it comes to Zoom fatigue, it almost feels as if there’s no way out: we close one meeting to log onto the next, exiting that one, and then another, only to begin a day’s worth of homework, which again, is online.
“It definitely takes a lot more discipline to focus and stay connected to the screen,” said Goldberg.
The stress of midterms is supplemented by the fact that most class resources -- study guides, office hours and study groups -- are also virtual. So we rub our eyes, attempting to rid them of their robotic stagnation, and readjust our positions against our at-home desks, locking-in for the hours ahead.
This brings us to a single truth: that we have never been so connected, so devoted and so dependent on our technology than we are right now. It can be difficult to disconnect from these devices when they’ve become an integral part of our daily routine, and even more challenging when the bulk of our academic, professional and social lives coexist in the same digital space.
Students and professors increasingly turn to self-care, perhaps now more than ever before, to stay motivated during this time. Taking time for themselves not only becomes an important part of their day-to-day routines, but also offers an opportunity to step away from the screen. Disconnecting online has led to better connections with themselves.
For Walker, sophomore majoring in human biology, having a change of scenery has been especially helpful.
“Personally, I try to get out of the apartment once or twice a day, whether that is to go to the village or drive in the car with the windows down and music blasting,” she said.
The village became a great hub for studying lately with the addition of more chairs and tables, still following CDC guidelines. Walker expressed how being surrounded by productive students is great encouragement. Walker and her roommates do homework there occasionally as seeing the familiar hustle and bustle of students provides both motivation and comfort.
Walker’s advice to others who may be struggling is to “take time out of your day to go outside, get out of your apartment, and do something to distract you from your work. Everyone is dealing with the lack of motivation and productivity, so you are not in this alone.”
Similarly, Goldberg has found that keeping a loose schedule, going on walks with friends and getting fresh air between classes are key for keeping productive. She also made it a priority to practice a morning routine, which allows her the time to enjoy her coffee, do a quick workout before class or write in a journal.
“Reading - getting a book that you’re really engaged in and a story that will really encapture you is huge,” she said.
An additional resource USC offers for students, staff, and faculty is Mindful USC. The free program includes training, practice groups and special events that help to promote happy and productive work environments, encourage creativity and deepen the quality of learning and teaching.
Mindful USC teachers have extensive knowledge on mindfulness techniques and meditation practices, ensuring in depth training. A couple of their array of classes include “Untangling Anxiety,” “Mindful Self Compassion,” and “Mindful Creativity”.
Mindful USC offers a free mobile app, “tailored to you and your USC experience,” with a variety of personalizable features. Students find the app helps in deconstructing their anxiety and feeling more at-peace with themselves in this time of uncertainty.
Professor Lin reminds her students to take the time to listen to music and dance around their space, to be silly and to enjoy the things they still can.
“Be gentle with yourself, be patient with yourself and don’t feel like everything has to be perfect. Because we’re all in this strange situation together, and it’s new to almost all of us,” she says.
Lin also emphasized the importance of students making use of their resources, and reaching out to others if they are struggling.
“I always encourage them to talk to the professor, because chances are multiple students are feeling this kind of fatigue, and the professors themselves are as well,” Lin said. “I think we’re all in a position, hopefully now, to be more empathetic and understanding to one another and their needs and try to cater to those.”