Online Calls Reduce Social Responses In The Brain - 3 Ways To Protect Your Relationship Skills
Remote working brings flexibility, but be aware of the costs
1. The Zoom boom
I’m built for remote working. I’ve always had social anxiety and am an introvert, so even though I can absolutely love in-person catch ups, they become overwhelming and tiring.
The cost-benefit analysis of social interactions is a real process for me.
With all the negatives of the Covid Pandemic, what became a positive change (for many) was the increased switch to and acceptance of remote working.
It went from an occasional perk to a new way of working.
Hiring has permanently changed as new hires now count flexible working as a non-negotiable when starting a job.
In the UK, the CIPD (Chartered Institute for Personnel and Development) reported that 60% have flexible working arrangements in 2023 compared to 51% in the previous year.1
My online coaching business is delivered remotely, via Zoom or Teams. I love this format, as it fits into my lifestyle, and that of my busy business owner clients.
We don’t have to commute during peak rush hour, spill coffee over ourselves whilst we get settled into a room.
There is no commute after a potentially emotionally tricky session. Relief!
We connect from across the country and beyond.
It’s opened up access to more people I can help, as they kickstart their burnout recovery and manage other stress-related issues.
There are costs, such as not being able to see the full behaviour or movement of the client’s body, or limited physical synchrony (our heart rate and breathing can synchronise if we’re vibing with someone).
Overall, online engagement and video calls have become so normalised that it’s hard to list many other longer-term concerns.
Yet, I read about a neuroimaging study assessing the brain and its social circuits, comparing online calls versus in-person interactions.
This was directly connected to how I spend most of my week so my interest was piqued.
Here’s what I discovered.
2. Your brain’s social circuits are less active online
An article by Bess Connolly summarised Yale neuroscientist Joy Hirsch’s recent study (published in Imaging Neuroscience) comparing Zoom versus in-person interactions2.
They completed neuroimaging assessments between two participants in two formats:
Face-to-face
Online via Zoom
Analysing real-time brain activity in these formats, they discovered that the neural activity (EEG) in social circuits was higher in the face-to-face interactions.
This instinctively makes sense - face-to-face interaction has more sensory richness.
You can see how the person moves their body, what they smell like, hear their voice intonation more closely, touch them if you need to, etc.
The study also reported that there were key physiological differences observed in face-to-face interactions:
Increased gaze time
Pupil dilation
Greater arousal
Improved social cues exchange
In the Zoom format, these social circuits are less active, and physiological impacts were lower.
The researchers suggest that current digital representations available via online platforms, such as Zoom, are not good enough to induce a similar level of social arousal.
If ever there was a need for faster broadband, I can’t think of one that beats this :).
This is a simple study, but it’s a great jumping off point for more research:
Is activity level in these social circuits noticeable to each participant - positive, negative, neutral?
Does it matter how well you know the other person?
Are there any differences between ages of participants?
How does neurodivergence influence these results, if at all?
Do sensory impairments have an impact e.g. blind or deaf participants?
The way we notice and respond to facial cues is key to social information, impacting how we respond, and interpret what the other person is doing.
This is increasingly important when we are connecting to someone we haven’t met before.
For example, I’m very short. When I meet people in person, it can be an ice-breaking topic.
In online conversations, I could be any height and it’s not even relevant.
Reading this article, and my mates reminding me that I’ve been very busy lately and in ‘hermit mode’ (this is a known thing in my group), I realised I should rebalance my online interactions with real ones.
If my online interactions aren’t registered as much by my brain, even though I really enjoy online life, my ability to connect with others might be reduced.
Yikes.
3. 3 ways to protect your relationship skills
I recognise that maintaining my online world, business, and the flexibility it offers is super valuable to me.
But we can’t only live online if we want to build and maintain healthy relationships and affiliation with others. It’s so important to our health and wellbeing.
Loneliness is increased in people that spend more than 75% of their time alone.3
If online interactions aren’t registered as intensely as in-person ones, we might also judge that we’re less alone than we are.
I’ve looked into my past and what has worked for me to get out of ‘hermit mode’.
Here are 3 ways to protect your relationship skills. Let’s get those social circuits firing:
Go and sit in a coffee shop to people watch. I love this. You have random chats with other punters. You get coffee (and cake) that someone else has made.
Stack up social catch ups with your friends in advance. If you’re not a social person, this is harder than it seems. Kids get play dates. Adults need them too. Open your calendar and get organised.
Go to an in-person hobby/exercise/club event. Hobbies and play have a positive impact on our wellbeing. Whether it’s yoga, football, book club or something entirely different, find your people.
Now that I know my brain works differently in various social formats, I’m looking forward to adding these options to my weekly routine.
I’ll let you know how it goes.
These are just my ideas to build and maintain my social skills.
What do you do to boost your in-person relationship skills?
Let me know!
Let me know what you're keen to learn or talk about in the comments or on chat.
This is your space too, so let's enjoy it together.
Take care,
Sabrina Ahmed
Burnout Coach | Neuroscientist | Art-based Practitioner
I love this. Overwhelm is a trap. Thanks for the helpful steps - reminds me of the old response to the Q "How do you eat an elephant" A "One bite at a time. :)
You have put together important info on a topic promising to be more wide spread in the future.
I also learn of more and more people experiencing a burnout and would like to help. Lets try to keep up the social contact.