Speak Out OCTOBER 2021 DIGITAL EDITION

FEATURE

Telepractice, virtual fatigue, and mental health

During the course of the pandemic, a significant number of speech pathologists have employed telepractice to serve clients—many also perform work remotely, participate in online learning, or engage their social circles virtually. Speech pathologists and their clients sometimes report stress and weariness from increased screen time. However, the relationship between screen time and virtual fatigue appears to be complex. Understanding various factors might help speech pathologists, clients, and other stakeholders manage stress related to online interactions. Screen time and mental health indicators The effects of increasing screen time on wellbeing has been studied even prior to the pandemic. Although results of meta-analyses show possible correlation between screen time and depressive symptoms, ( Tang et al, 2021 ; Zink et al., 2020 ; Orben & Przybylski, 2019 ), the significance of this may decrease based on the devices used, gender, socioeconomic status, and other factors. Evidence pointing to an association between screen-based activities and other well-being indicators (e.g., anxiety, hyperactivity and attention, self-esteem, etc.) may not to be very strong ( Stiglic & Viner, 2018 ). Understanding the impact of screen time on mental health may also be complicated by related factors during

the COVID-19 era, such as decreased physical activity ( Moore et al., 2020 ), general increase in depression and anxiety ( Gurvich et al., 2020 ), and stress responses to quarantine, fear of inadequate supply, loss of income, etc. (Brooks et al., 2020 ). It is also significant that studies on screen time often do not address telehealth and online learning. So how do we account for the experience of “virtual fatigue” that is often described by participants of telepractice? Although this is not well understood, Dr. Jeremy Bailenson, who studies virtual and augmented reality at Stanford University, offers four theoretical explanations for virtual fatigue . Eye gaze at close distance The long duration of eye contact and the close-up view of others’ faces that occur during video-based meetings are typically reserved for close relationships. When talking to others in person, we would usually avoid this behaviour or increase our physical distance to compensate for it. In group meetings, we also have prolonged face-to- face views of other participants who we would normally observe in our peripheral vision. Each of these behaviours may be uncomfortable and create stress over long periods of time.

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October 2021 | Speak Out