What Zoom Fatigue Feels Like When You’re Autistic
Dealing with the cognitive load when you already have sensory processing difficulties
We’ve all heard of Zoom Fatigue: I hear it’s one of Google’s most searched terms of 2020. But what does it actually mean?
For some, it gives expression to a general feeling of being over it. They’re sick of the restrictions the pandemic has imposed on their lives and worn down by the anxiety wrought by relentless uncertainty.
But Zoom fatigue also has a more specific meaning grounded in neuroscience. We feel exhausted because interacting with people through a screen demands a higher level of sensory processing than communicating face-to-face.
Difficulty with sensory processing is central to the experience of being autistic. This may mean hyper (over) sensitive or hypo(under) sensitive to sensory input. One sense may may be affected more than others and it and generally fluctuates over time. Essentially, the brain of an autistic person has to work harder than a neurotypical person to process sensory input from their environment.
Interestingly, the impact of zoom fatigue on neurotypical people has been compared with autistic burnout. So imagine what it feels like if you are actually autistic.
