Experts explain that videoconferencing saps more brain power than in-person ones because you have to pay more attention. Participating in a video call, usually from your own home, requires you to block out all the personal belongings surrounding you, interruptions from roommates or partners, children running around, household chores, etc.
“Attention is a limited resource,” Stefan van der Stigchel, a professor of experimental psychology at Utrecht University in the Netherlands, tells Fast Company. “All of that resource needs to be allocated to a screen . . . It’s really poor VR. You need to transport yourself to a location where you’re not physically present, while ignoring all distractions around you.”
The inability to zero in on an activity can impact whatever you do after the videoconferencing call, and the lack of focus while behind the wheel can have serious and potentially deadly consequences.
