Is your life an endless barrage of Zoom meetings and events? Mine is-- and I don't particularly like the method of communication that is a staple during the pandemic. Although it has been helpful to have Zoom, Skype, and Facetime as communications tools, nothing can replace in-person human interaction; something always gets lost in the translation in virtual activities. 

Now I do online exercise classes, rather than expose myself to whatever nasties are flying through the air in a packed gym. The instructor, Michelle Damis, is fabulous and is a seasoned stunt woman/actress who gives me a daily lift. But, dang, I'd much rather be in her class live, with others, than watch her on the screen in my living room- exercising alone. Something is energizing about being in a group of like-minded exercise enthusiasts, having a chat, or even going out for coffee afterward. 

Business meetings have changed, too. There is a great advantage to meeting by Zoom, though. If you are truly bored, you can turn down the volume--or at least go into the kitchen and start dinner, unbeknownst to your colleagues-- and just run back into the room fast when you hear your name attached to a question. You can get away with wearing sweat pants (but always make sure you have a nice top on and your hair is combed, at the very least!)

Another area where I prefer in-person relationships is education. I just read a piece by Joshua Kim called 'Why Virtual Meetings are Bad for Constructive Conflict." The author referred to educational applications. I could not agree more. He points out that nonverbal cues are absent in Zoom interplay and it can be tough to interpret true intentions.

Over two years ago, I enrolled in a Business Communications course at North Seattle College that looked interesting. It was an online class. What irritated me was the long-winded process to get into the syllabus and coursework, along with the 'introductions' the professor requested we do; plus write a synopsis about our lives. I received random pictures of a classmate's cats and felt obligated to comment.  I thought to myself, 'Who would give a rat's ass about what hobbies I have, what I like to eat on vacation, etc.?!' After all, students had not registered to hear about me, it was not about me-- it was about the course. Needless to say, I felt there was a lot of time-wasting along with meaningless chitchat circulating. 

There is no substitute for seeing human expression and body language. I tend to be a visual person and the flatness of a TV or computer laptop screen is disassociating for me. Two-dimensional looks artificial and makes me conclude the 'social interaction' I am having is fake and flawed. All this Zooming fills me up with an empty feeling. I don't always love what people do-- but I do prefer to connect in person.