There is a huge difference between face-to-face interactions and those that are conducted on Zoom 

There are stark differences in brain activity between those who interact over Zoom and those who believe in more conventional methods of interaction. A new study conducted using complex imaging tools has recently been able to highlight the same.

Joy Hirsch, who is a professor of psychiatry, comparative medicine, and neuroscience at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut says:

“In this study we find that the social systems of the human brain are more active during real live in-person encounters than on Zoom.”

In a news release at Yale, she said:

“Zoom appears to be an impoverished social communication system relative to in-person conditions."

She further added:

"Overall, the dynamic and natural social interactions that occur spontaneously during in-person interactions appear to be less apparent or absent during Zoom encounters."

“Online representations of faces, at least with current technology, do not have the same 'privileged access' to social neural circuitry in the brain that is typical of the real thing.”

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Can Zoom meetings replace face-to-face interactions in the long run?

Online meetings are sure to be an important part of all businesses in the future (Image via freepik)

It would be fair to say that, in the long run, Zoom meetings will occupy a large chunk of all business endeavors. So much so, that it can very well replace meetings that require you to be physically present in a specific geographical setting.

There are several reasons behind that. Firstly, with the availability of the Internet, it has become easier than ever to bring people residing in different parts of the world together on a common platform.

Secondly, people can take part in online meetings based on their convenience after careful consideration of their own schedules and that of others.

Although Zoom meetings have now become the norm, in some situations, face-to-face interactions are necessary (Image via freepik)

Besides this, online meetings also ensure that decision-making is fast. This is because, when there is an issue or there is something that requires immediate attention, an online meeting can easily be summoned.

However, it should be noted that in certain situations physical meetings are much more preferred over online ones. Certain discussions and business exchanges only make sense when they are carried out in a specific setting. This allows the participants to engage in the interaction more deeply as they are able to make sense of each other's gestures and non-verbal cues.

Besides this, activities such as training individuals for a job might just be more fruitful when done face to face.

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Therefore as mentioned, online meetings are sure to be a very important part of all business ventures. In this age, where more and more things are becoming online, people will only benefit from such an exercise. However, it is highly unlikely that the concept of physical meetings and face-to-face interaction will vanish as a whole.