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By Sofi Daniels ‘23
I am concerned for my fellow W&L peers as we wrap up our fall term and think about winter. By the time we finish this term, we will have had 12 straight weeks of zoom fatigue, technological issues and incessant worrying about Covid-19. Moreover, we only had a single day off after 8 intense, stressful weeks.
It is a known fact that the counseling center is backed up and rates of burnout, anxiety and depression (along with other mental health concerns) are on the rise, both here in Lexington and across the country. Is this really a situation that is conducive to a quality education and our psychological well-being? When will it be okay to return to some form of normalcy?
We need breaks next semester. Ideally, we’d have single days strategically placed throughout Winter Term. As students stress over Covid-19, our GPA, and our futures, we should not be forced to compromise our mental health and well-being to mechanically complete never-ending assignments. Breaks allow us to recuperate and catch up on assignments, chores, and our social lives.
Another reason we need breaks: Zoom Fatigue. I wish I was making this up, but yes, Zoom Fatigue is a real thing, and it’s the reason why we are so exhausted after hours of Zoom meetings. Humans are not meant to be constantly isolated in front of our screens. We are social creatures. We need face-to-face interactions, not only for the sake of our education and our ability to grow and mature, but also for us to have a sense of mutual trust in our peers. In a normal class setting, students can see each other’s faces and react to nonverbal cues. This is crucial for our ability to stay alert and not be persistently drained.
One of the reasons Zoom Fatigue occurs is due to inability to perceive reward, as described by Dr. Jena Lee in a July 2020 Psychiatric Times article, “A Psychological Exploration of Zoom Fatigue”:
“A core psychological component of fatigue is a rewards-costs tradeoff that
happens in our minds unconsciously. Basically, at every level of behavior, a
tradeoff is made between the likely rewards versus costs of engaging in a certain
activity. Even minor decisions, such as pressing the “Delete” versus “Backspace”
button to erase a typed word, are made on the basis of these unconscious
estimates to maximize reward (eg, time) over cost (eg, effort). The link between
this reward assessment and fatigue then comes here: activation of the
dopaminergic pathways in brain structures associated with reward (eg, ventral
striatum, anterior cingulate cortex [ACC], amygdala) increases subjective
alertness, energy, and motivation – the opposite of fatigue.”
Dr. Lee connects the virtual platform with a lack of meaningful social connections, along with the inability to perceive the facial expressions and thoughts of others, which decreases the “rewards” in our brains that we experience from real socialization. Face-to-Face interactions, on the other hand, do not result in this effect and therefore can help explain why we can stay focused during an in-person class better than online classes. Dr. Lee goes on to write, “For instance, functional MRI data reveal that live face-to-face interactions, compared to viewing recordings, are associated with greater activation in the same brain regions involved in reward (ie, ACC, ventral striatum, amygdala). So, more active social connection is associated with more perceived reward, which in turn affects the very neurological pathways modulating alertness versus fatigue.”
Thanks to all the disruptions, distractions and technological issues of Zoom, we feel even more dissonance as a result. Personally, I have had countless Wifi issues, audio failure, and bizarre problems with my cursor going AWOL (my laptop’s personal favorite). And there were times that, in addition to my cursor not being there, my screen was frozen, so that the only way for me to fix it was to close my laptop entirely. This waiting game wastes time and creates all kinds of unnecessary distractions from learning.
Zoom may create some level of convenience since we can join class from wherever and in the comfort of our homes. But Zoom as a platform for life-long education? An experience that’s worth the full W&L tuition of $56,170 a year? Certainly not.
The administration should recognize the serious mental health issues that a mostly-virtual learning experience has caused for many in the W&L community. For the sake of our psychological well-being, we cannot afford another semester of unending full weeks of classes, unusually large workloads and no opportunity to relax. Too many of my classmates have neglected their own well-being to hurriedly finish big assignments and prepare for the next, with no Reading Days or break to look forward to until the end of the semester. If W&L truly cares about its student body, it should give us several much-needed breaks placed frequently throughout Winter Term, especially if Covid guidelines aren’t loosened and mental health continues to decline. We deserve better.
You are not alone.
Resources to go to:
(in person) recovery support group 5:30-6:30pm every Friday at Washingtonian House.
(in person) substance abstinence support group 7-8pm every Wednesday at Washingtonian House.
(zoom) joint recovery ally training with VCU and U of Richmond November 11, 4-6:30pm .
-Peer Counselors/LGBTQ Peer Counselors/RAs/CAs/friends
-National Suicide Prevention Hotline: (800)-273-8255
-National Alliance on Mental Illness Virginia “Text “NAMI” to 741741 if you are having suicidal thoughts or urges.” They also have a lot more resources if you check out the link.
-National Hopeline Network: (800)-SUICIDE
-Project Horizon: (540)-463-2594
-The Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender National Hotline: (888)-843-4564. Check out the link for some other resources.