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Zoom Is a Nightmare. So Why Is Everyone Still Using It?
And will we keep using it when all of this is over?
Since the coronavirus started spreading, our little computer and phone cameras have become windows from our isolation, looking into other people’s lives, catching glimpses of pets, children, and spouses in the background of video calls. I find these moments deeply humanizing; reminders that we’re not perfect work machines, just people trying to do the best we can. Our hair is messy, our faces poorly framed and lit. Sometimes we leave the mic on when we go to the bathroom.
Through this tiny lens we see the ambient background of life: people working in kitchens, bedrooms or spare rooms, the hoarded detritus of life piled behind them. A colleague, I learned from a video call, uses an ironing board as a desk. Another works from the sofa. One collects stuffed hedgehogs. You’ve probably had similar insights about your colleagues. Quite possibly you’ve learned many of these things through Zoom.
