The REAL reason Zoom calls make you feel ugly, says a psychiatrist

We’ve all been guilty of this: you’re in the middle of a Zoom meeting and instead of focusing on what your colleagues are saying, you’re looking at your face in the corner of the screen.

You are overwhelmed with thoughts about your appearance: Has anyone noticed the pimple on the tip of your nose? Why is everyone wearing makeup when you had no problem with it?

The Zoom era had a serious impact on the country’s confidence. Research shows that the more time women spend on video calls, the less satisfied they are with their appearance.

Additionally, plastic surgeons have seen a 150 percent increase in demand for some facial procedures since 2019, according to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons. And numerous experts have linked the growing popularity of customizations to our new Zoom culture.

But why do digital interactions make us feel so much more confident than in real life?

Now, experts from the University of Colorado have shed some light on the answer and offered some tips on how to avoid feeling ugly during video calls.

“For some people, external dissatisfaction can heighten feelings that may have been more fleeting before the Zoom era,” wrote Emily Hemendinger, an assistant professor of psychiatry at the University of Colorado, on the science culture website The Conversation.

The first problem is that the simple presence of your face on the screen – for long periods of time – forces us to focus on it and notice perceived imperfections, says Prof. Hemendinger.

Researchers at Witchita University conducted a study last year in which they tracked the gaze and attention of a small group of volunteers during Zoom calls.

They found that, on average, participants focused on the person speaking for three-quarters of the conversation and gave the rest of the time to various distractions.

However, women were more likely to spend their distracted time looking after themselves; Some female participants focused on their reflection in the mirror for 20 percent of the call.

Other studies have shown that women are more likely to suffer from Zoom fatigue than men — exhaustion was the reason for my marathon video conference sessions — which experts say is due to their concentration on the self-viewing screen.

And video calling is unique because it “allows people to easily compare themselves to others and see how they share and talk in real time,” says Prof. Hemendinger.

Video calling company that grew big during the pandemic is shutting down WFH (but only for two days a week)

Zoom, which is used by around 300 million people every day, has sent its employees back to the office.

In other words, it allows us to see ourselves in motion, where parts of the face may look different than when they are at rest.

In addition, the effect of a concept is known as the “spotlight effect”.

“Video chatters struggle to recognize where other users are looking,” says Prof. Hemendinger. This causes us to overestimate the amount of time others spend judging our appearance.

“This can lead to increased anxiety and people thinking that others are judging their appearance during a video call,” she writes.

Prof. Hemendinger has some tips on what you should do to protect your confidence.

“Be aware of this Instead of looking at your own face, focus on what others are saying in a video conference.

“And while watching yourself and your colleagues on video and social media, try to focus on the person as a whole rather than parts of a body.

‘ Research shows that reducing social media use by 50 percent can improve appearance satisfaction in both teens and adults.”