Why Zoom Is Terrible

But as anyone who has been on a video call knows, people tend to look more at themselves than at the camera or even at others on the call.

Video chats have also been shown to inhibit [trust](https://dl.acm.org/doi/abs/10.1145/1240624.1240846) because we can’t look one another in the eye. Depending on the camera angle, people may appear to be looking up or down or to the side. Viewers may then perceive them as uninterested, shifty, haughty, servile or guilty. For this reason, law scholars and criminal justice activists have questioned the fairness of [remote depositions, hearings and trials.](https://www.researchgate.net/publication/4986629_Criminal_Justice_and_Videoconferencing_Technology_The_Remote_Defendant... See more

This is foremost because human beings are exquisitely sensitive to one another’s facial expressions. Authentic expressions of emotion are an intricate array of minute muscle contractions, particularly around the eyes and mouth, often subconsciously perceived, and essential to our understanding of one another. But those telling twitches all but disa... See more