Although security experts warn that the Californian company that operates Zoom does not guarantee adequate data protection, the Zoom app has nevertheless been ranked number one in the Swiss Apple Store for weeks, closely followed by comparable free applications such as Microsoft Teams, Houseparty, Skype, and Google Hangouts.

 

Why this is so is obvious. When the lockdown began, we retreated into our own four walls. Home office was the order of the day. Almost every form of communication with people in the flesh and blood disappeared overnight. A replacement was needed.

 

Grandma is under pressure

 

Our best friend suddenly wants to show her face on our smartphone instead of calling like before. Grandparents realize they'll only see their grandchildren if they get used to video chatting.

 

Offices are conducting video conferences—in this case, that's the term for meetings with three or more participants. Usually, there are more. The sight of the grid with all the people connecting from home is now as much a part of everyday office life as the bad air in the meeting room used to be.

 

Emotional exchange is important

 

Video conferencing, says media psychologist Süss, is not only necessary for many people to continue working, but also a kind of substitute for the human closeness and "emotional exchange" of everyday office life that have been lost due to the crisis. In short, it's important that we see other people now – even if it's only on screen.

 

That sounds good. But we struggle with this form of communication, which is completely different from "normal" speech. People either interrupt each other or remain silent—there's little nuance in between. Someone's voice is always pixelated, someone's voice always cuts out.

 

Say hello to the talking chin

 

Video conferences like Milfs Cams Vibra Game are full of mishaps, bad luck, and glitches. There's the "silent film star" who speaks unnoticed for a quarter of an hour in a video conference before realizing he didn't activate his microphone.

 

The involuntary exhibitionist who, as the only participant at a conference, forgot to deactivate his camera and doesn't notice that a hundred people are watching him sitting in front of his computer, grumpy and unshaven. In the worst case, someone gets up and wears only boxer shorts "down there" because no one would normally see that in the frame.

 

Or the fidgety Philip, who's constantly moving. A clear view of the nostrils, they say. Sometimes you even talk to your chin for minutes. In times of coronavirus, this area is often not shaved at all on men, or is freshly shaved for a meeting. Hopefully, we'll never see as many close-ups of facial hair and razor burn as we do now.

 

We often sit in video chats, look at the person we're talking to, and wonder: Are they okay? Are they tired or just in a bad mood? We do this much more often than in face-to-face situations and usually remain relatively perplexed. Then we see ourselves on the screen and think: Do I always look so serious?

 

Watching yourself while listening

 

In a conversation with several people, says Norina Peier (40), everyone's eyes are focused on the speaker. Those listening aren't being observed. In video calls, things are different: In addition to the speaker, each participant also sees themselves and the other participants on the screen. "This has the unpleasant effect of allowing us to watch each other while listening."

 

Peier from Zurich is a psychologist with acting training and teaches people how to appear competent during performances. The biggest challenge with video calls, she says, is the fact that everyone can only show part of their body.

 

If you tap your leg impatiently, no one notices in a video call. Facial expressions, like a suspicious raising of the eyebrows, are overlooked. The limited size of the video window, unfavorable lighting, and poor image quality are to blame. "Almost everything I communicate nonverbally in this situation gets lost."

 

That's a lot. Scientists estimate that 90 percent of the information a person conveys in a conversation is nonverbal. We read our conversation partner's facial expressions, perceive how they move, and what they smell like.

 

After video conferences we are exhausted

 

A video call, says Daniel Süss, requires much more energy than a face-to-face conversation. This is because we're constantly actively trying to read signals that we would otherwise perceive casually. Süss: "A brief interaction like a handshake, for example, gives me a sense of whether I like someone or find them irritating. In an online chat, I have to put in much more effort to figure that out."

 

In a video situation, he says, the spoken word and the way we say something inevitably gain importance. This can bring advantages. "Those who communicate this way regularly can learn to express themselves more precisely."

 

Many of us aren't quite there yet, and our behavior ranges from naive to chaotic. Videos of students smoking pot during video lessons, of half-naked men barging into their boss's meeting with their well-groomed girlfriends—social media is full of them. Even the Swiss, the most discreet people in the world, have rarely let such a glimpse into their private spaces as they have since the beginning of the lockdown.

 

Selective authenticity

 

But nobody leaves what's behind their head entirely to chance, says Süss. He's sitting in front of a bookshelf—by far the most popular background for video conferences—and a landscape painting. "You won't see the messy piles of paper on my desk right now."

 

Experts call this type of staging selective authenticity: What I show is real, but I don't show everything. That's what works. Communication experts therefore advise against using the artificial backgrounds and effects that many programs offer.

 

Even if you blur the background or completely hide it, you'll appear as if you have something to hide. Some programs even allow you to virtually transport yourself to a beach. Waves roll onto the shore, wind blows through palm trees. Not a single hair on your head moves.

 

Many Swiss people normally only see their colleagues in a professional setting, says Süss. So it's nice to be able to glimpse their private spaces via video. "If there's an ironing board in the background, that's not a problem. It might even seem like a friendly touch."

 

Video calls can also jeopardize interpersonal relationships, says Süss. Because you're not in the same room and can simply log off in the worst case, being unfriendly is less risky than in "real life," where you could hypothetically get a slap in the face.

 

The conversational situation we are now forced to face is no substitute for physical contact. We may find the closeness it creates comforting, amusing, or disturbing. It is certainly new to us—like many things these days.