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Now here's today's news, discerned differently.

If you're worried about Zoom fatigue, join the crowd.

Just not on Zoom.

The Wall Street Journal reports that before the pandemic,

Zoom was barely known to the public.

The nine-year-old companies served mainly businesses,

hosting lots of webinars in training.

However, in the midst of the pandemic, it has grown from

10 million people attending online meetings at the end of last year to 300 million in April.

These video conferences come at a cost, however. When we talk to people in this way, it is difficult

for us to read their body language or experience non-verbal or real-time

feedback. Seeing ourselves on camera brings stress, as does the close proximity of faces on screen.

A Stanford study found that close facial images activate our innate fight-or-flight reactions,

and we are missing the positive biochemical reactions

we experience in face-to-face relationships. How do we combat Zoom fatigue?

Harvard Business Review suggests that we avoid multitasking on video calls, build-in breaks,

reduce online stimuli such as busy backgrounds, and use phone calls or email

rather than defaulting to video. Too many believers settle for second-hand encounters with our Lord.

Like Zoom teleconferences, we meet Jesus through filters that can minimize his intimacy.

We listen to sermons, attend Bible studies, and consume media content such as this daily article.

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