Investigating autistic traits, social phobia, fear of COVID-19, and internet use disorder variables in the context of videoconference fatigue
In response to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, many individuals turned to synchronous online video communication technologies as a substitute for real-world face-to-face interactions. Evidence indicates that some users of such technologies show symptoms of exhaustion and fatigue du...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Elsevier
2023-09-01
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| Series: | Telematics and Informatics Reports |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2772503023000270 |
| _version_ | 1797677680040083456 |
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| author | Yingying Zhang Shuxia Yao Cornelia Sindermann Dmitri Rozgonjuk Menghan Zhou René Riedl Christian Montag |
| author_facet | Yingying Zhang Shuxia Yao Cornelia Sindermann Dmitri Rozgonjuk Menghan Zhou René Riedl Christian Montag |
| author_sort | Yingying Zhang |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | In response to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, many individuals turned to synchronous online video communication technologies as a substitute for real-world face-to-face interactions. Evidence indicates that some users of such technologies show symptoms of exhaustion and fatigue during and after videoconferences (VCs) – this phenomenon is referred to as Videoconference fatigue (VC fatigue). Research characterizing the possible vulnerability factors for VC fatigue is still scarce and considered to be in its early stage. Contributing to closing this gap in the existing literature is the motivation for the present study. Survey data was collected from 311 German-speaking participants to explore the relationships of VC fatigue with several psychological factors including autistic traits, social phobia, Fear of COVID-19, tendencies towards Internet Use Disorders (IUD tendencies), and Fear of Missing Out (FoMO, trait and state variables). Results showed that VC fatigue was significantly positively correlated with all of these psychological factors except state-FoMO, and cross-sectional mediation analyses provided further evidence for the positive association between autistic traits and VC fatigue. Specifically, the relationship between autistic traits and VC fatigue was mediated by Fear of COVID-19 and IUD tendencies rather than social phobia, with the latter being a preregistered hypothesis. This study adds to the literature by revealing several possible vulnerability factors associated with VC fatigue. In essence, the present work sheds light on the complex association between autistic traits and VC fatigue. We discuss the implications of our study as well as its limitations and potential avenues for future research. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-11T22:48:46Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-78a38381c1714a2c9ceaea9ed8920465 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2772-5030 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-11T22:48:46Z |
| publishDate | 2023-09-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Telematics and Informatics Reports |
| spelling | doaj.art-78a38381c1714a2c9ceaea9ed89204652023-09-22T04:40:03ZengElsevierTelematics and Informatics Reports2772-50302023-09-0111100067Investigating autistic traits, social phobia, fear of COVID-19, and internet use disorder variables in the context of videoconference fatigueYingying Zhang0Shuxia Yao1Cornelia Sindermann2Dmitri Rozgonjuk3Menghan Zhou4René Riedl5Christian Montag6Department of Molecular Psychology, Institute of Psychology and Education, Ulm University, Ulm, GermanyThe Clinical Hospital of Chengdu Brain Science Institute, Ministry of Education Key Lab for Neuroinformation, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, ChinaDepartment of Molecular Psychology, Institute of Psychology and Education, Ulm University, Ulm, Germany; Interchange Forum for Reflecting on Intelligent Systems, University of Stuttgart, Stuttgart, GermanyDepartment of Molecular Psychology, Institute of Psychology and Education, Ulm University, Ulm, Germany; Institute of Mathematics and Statistics, University of Tartu, Tartu, Estonia; Institute of Computer Science, University of Tartu, Tartu, EstoniaThe Clinical Hospital of Chengdu Brain Science Institute, Ministry of Education Key Lab for Neuroinformation, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, ChinaDigital Business Institute, University of Applied Sciences Upper Austria, Steyr, Austria; Institute of Business Informatics-Information Engineering, Johannes Kepler University Linz, Linz, AustriaDepartment of Molecular Psychology, Institute of Psychology and Education, Ulm University, Ulm, Germany; Corresponding author.In response to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, many individuals turned to synchronous online video communication technologies as a substitute for real-world face-to-face interactions. Evidence indicates that some users of such technologies show symptoms of exhaustion and fatigue during and after videoconferences (VCs) – this phenomenon is referred to as Videoconference fatigue (VC fatigue). Research characterizing the possible vulnerability factors for VC fatigue is still scarce and considered to be in its early stage. Contributing to closing this gap in the existing literature is the motivation for the present study. Survey data was collected from 311 German-speaking participants to explore the relationships of VC fatigue with several psychological factors including autistic traits, social phobia, Fear of COVID-19, tendencies towards Internet Use Disorders (IUD tendencies), and Fear of Missing Out (FoMO, trait and state variables). Results showed that VC fatigue was significantly positively correlated with all of these psychological factors except state-FoMO, and cross-sectional mediation analyses provided further evidence for the positive association between autistic traits and VC fatigue. Specifically, the relationship between autistic traits and VC fatigue was mediated by Fear of COVID-19 and IUD tendencies rather than social phobia, with the latter being a preregistered hypothesis. This study adds to the literature by revealing several possible vulnerability factors associated with VC fatigue. In essence, the present work sheds light on the complex association between autistic traits and VC fatigue. We discuss the implications of our study as well as its limitations and potential avenues for future research.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2772503023000270Autistic TraitsSocial PhobiaFear of COVID-19Internet Use DisorderFear of Missing OutVideoconference Fatigue |
| spellingShingle | Yingying Zhang Shuxia Yao Cornelia Sindermann Dmitri Rozgonjuk Menghan Zhou René Riedl Christian Montag Investigating autistic traits, social phobia, fear of COVID-19, and internet use disorder variables in the context of videoconference fatigue Telematics and Informatics Reports Autistic Traits Social Phobia Fear of COVID-19 Internet Use Disorder Fear of Missing Out Videoconference Fatigue |
| title | Investigating autistic traits, social phobia, fear of COVID-19, and internet use disorder variables in the context of videoconference fatigue |
| title_full | Investigating autistic traits, social phobia, fear of COVID-19, and internet use disorder variables in the context of videoconference fatigue |
| title_fullStr | Investigating autistic traits, social phobia, fear of COVID-19, and internet use disorder variables in the context of videoconference fatigue |
| title_full_unstemmed | Investigating autistic traits, social phobia, fear of COVID-19, and internet use disorder variables in the context of videoconference fatigue |
| title_short | Investigating autistic traits, social phobia, fear of COVID-19, and internet use disorder variables in the context of videoconference fatigue |
| title_sort | investigating autistic traits social phobia fear of covid 19 and internet use disorder variables in the context of videoconference fatigue |
| topic | Autistic Traits Social Phobia Fear of COVID-19 Internet Use Disorder Fear of Missing Out Videoconference Fatigue |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2772503023000270 |
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