Communication between people is less effective when itB次元官网网址檚 done through technology as opposed to in person B次元官网网址� and remote video chatting may even require a greater level of concentration, a new study by Montreal researchers suggests.
The studyB次元官网网址檚 results, its authors say, could help explain B次元官网网址淶oom fatigueB次元官网网址� B次元官网网址� the discomfort that many felt during the COVID-19 pandemic after spending entire days participating in online meetings.
B次元官网网址淥ur findings clearly demonstrate the price we pay for technology,B次元官网网址� the authors say in the study, called B次元官网网址淭echnologically-assisted communication attenuates inter-brain synchrony,B次元官网网址� published in the December 2022 issue of the open-access journal NeuroImage.
Guillaume Dumas, a researcher with Universit茅 de Montr茅al and the Sainte-Justine childrenB次元官网网址檚 hospital, along with colleagues, used an electroencephalogram B次元官网网址� a test that measures electrical activity in the brain B次元官网网址� to examine the brains of mothers and their children. Sixty-two mother-child pairs were studied; their brain activity was measured when they were talking in person and through a remote video chat.
The researchers found that participantsB次元官网网址� brains B次元官网网址渟ynchronizedB次元官网网址� when they were in each otherB次元官网网址檚 presence but did not do so when they were chatting through a screen. Researchers said they were able to observe nine important B次元官网网址渃ross-brain linksB次元官网网址� between participants during in-person conversation, compared to only one link during the virtual chat.
They said they think the links formed during in-person discussion permit people to communicate emotions or offer non-verbal cues.
B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 the adage about being on the same wavelength,B次元官网网址� Dumas said, adding that itB次元官网网址檚 clear from the study that certain cross-brain links are absent when people talk through video conferencing software.
B次元官网网址淲e pay a bit of a price by using technology to communicate by having lower-quality and less authentic communication, compared to what our brain is used to (and) what it was made for.B次元官网网址�
The human brain is the result of tens of thousands of years of evolution, while technology is rapidly evolving, he said. The brain, he added, is configured to manage interactions and communications with others face to face.
Researchers found that during in-person discussions, the frontal regions of the motherB次元官网网址檚 brain linked to each of the regions measured in the childB次元官网网址檚 brain. The frontal cortex is associated with high social functions, including social cognition and decision-making in a social context.
In-person communication, Dumas said, makes it easier to convey and identify non-verbal cues, to anticipate what the other person might say and to recognize innuendo B次元官网网址� subtleties that are more difficult to identify when speaking over a screen.
The study, he added, raises concerns about youth B次元官网网址� who heavily use technology to communicate.
There are neuroscience experiments that show there are critical periods for youth to learn certain social norms that can be harder to pick up later in the developmental process, he said. The use of technology also opens the door to certain habits that were more difficult to do in-person, like cyberbullying.
B次元官网网址淧eople who would not have acted out (in person) have much less difficulty in exhibiting toxic behaviour on the internet,B次元官网网址� Dumas said.
B次元官网网址淶oom fatigue,B次元官网网址� he said, can be caused by delayed social feedback, difficulty sustaining attention, by people not showing their faces, by posture issues, or by responses that are slow in coming due to muted microphones. Reduced brain synchronization, Dumas said, can be added to that list.
B次元官网网址淲e may end up concluding that a 15-minute in-person meeting is more effective than an hour-long online meeting.B次元官网网址�
B次元官网网址擩ean-Benoit Legault, The Canadian Press
