Impact of videoconferencing applications on mental health

Abstract

Under the circumstances of the current COVID-19 pandemic, videoconferencing applications (apps) have come into the mainstream across the world. Owing to their easy availability and cost-effectiveness, they are used in personal as well as professional lives to communicate. They have been very helpful for students and professionals to ensure that their routine work did not halt when various countries imposed lockdown rules restricting travel, social gatherings and other measures that resulted in reduced in-person meetings. However, they have their own set of disadvantages, aptly called ‘Zoom gloom/fatigue’, named after a popular videoconferencing platform. Users are also noted to have anxiety while using these apps. Therefore, immediate attention is warranted to ensure cautious usage and to reduce the distress associated with videoconferencing apps while maintaining the obvious advantages that these methods have rapidly spread all over the world.