Zoom gloom in the classroom : exploring antecedents of videoconference fatigue among tertiary students

Abstract

With videoconference platform usage skyrocketing in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, videoconference fatigue (VF) has become a prevalent phenomenon. This study seeks to address the lack of knowledge surrounding how VF arises in tertiary educational contexts, especially as students have been found to experience it to a higher degree than working adults. Through a mixed-methods approach that employed focus group discussions (n = 21) and a survey of tertiary students (n = 508), the study generated insights into VF antecedents in educational settings and developed a scale to assess these factors. Findings indicated that tertiary students experience VF in a starkly different way compared to employees in the workplace. Insights were then developed into a scale that measures seven antecedents (constituting 25 scale items) that surfaced as the most significant contributors to students’ VF. Additionally, both educators and students appear to hold and share responsibility for the VF that arises in the videoconference-based classroom, requiring their collaboration to overcome it. Further studies will be essential for validating the proposed scale for use in wider tertiary student populations.