Impact of remote communication tools and mirrors on wellbeing in videoconferencing: a preliminary study

• Main Authors: Teo, Elise Hsin Ru, Loei, Nikki Jia Hui, Omar Michael Bin Hanipan, Goh, Whitney
• Other Authors: Benjamin Li Junting
• Format: Final Year Project
• Language: English
• Published: Nanyang Technological University 2023
• Subjects: Social sciences::Communication
• Online Access: https://hdl.handle.net/10356/165300
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

With the normalisation of videoconferencing (VC) platforms after the COVID-19 pandemic, concerns about its impact on mental health and wellbeing have emerged. This study further investigates the adverse phenomenon of videoconference fatigue (VF) which describes the feeling of exhaustion during VC. Virtual reality (VR) has been proposed to improve online communication and has shown potential in reducing VF. However, these potential benefits of VR technology for improving VC are not yet fully understood. Additionally, removing the means of self-view has also been purported to reduce mirror anxiety which would theoretically reduce VF. However, this has not been widely studied across different VC mediums, especially VR. Hence, this preliminary study aims to explore whether VR as a VC medium and the absence of a mirror can improve the VC experience. A 2x2 dyadic, between-subjects experimental design (N = 96) was conducted to compare the effects of different VC mediums (VR and Zoom) and mirror presence (presence and absence) on well-being. We found that VR has several benefits over Zoom, including increased positive affect, reduced VF, and reduced mirror anxiety. Our findings indicate that VR technology has the potential to revolutionise VC and enhance the experience and productivity of virtual meetings. We discussed reasons for such patterns, as well as the implications on the use of mediums and mirrors to improve the VC experience. The paper concludes with a call for further research to explore the potential of VR across various contexts.