Live video streaming is an important component of the modern internet. Predicted since before the first days of the world wide web, the concept of video streaming has been hailed as a natural step in long-distance human communication. The trajectory of this growth hasn’t been as simple as many of us anticipated, however, with development taking twists and turns that often proved early predictions wrong.
A Supposed Ideal
The idea that live video streaming was an inevitability was based on the realities of evolving technology, and a fundamental misunderstanding of human psychology. It stemmed from the advent of the telephone in 1876. This system revolutionized the world by allowing us to speak to each other over long distances, which was hugely helpful in a wide range of situations.
Video streaming, it was thought, was a simple extension of the potential that audio chat presented. Being able to hear already gave us so much, so it made sense that being able to see would add even more to the equation. Once video chat became reliably possible via the internet in the early 2000s, and massively popular in the early 2020s, we learned the truth wasn’t so simple.
Two-way communication via video, it turned out, is exhausting. This is thanks to what has become commonly known as Zoom fatigue. Named after the popular business and entertainment chat program, Zoom fatigue has four fundamental components that cause us issues. These include:
- Too much eye contact is draining
- Constantly seeing yourself is exhausting
- Video chats can prevent us from being mobile
- Staying professional in front of several people produces more cognitive load
Though these reasons don’t equally apply to all types of video chat, they do illustrate a starting point where video chat begins to falter. Furthermore, the argument that what can be said face to face may be communicated much faster and more reliably through voice or even just text has proven to be incorrect.
Technological Potential
The technology behind video chat finds itself in better availability of high-speed internet and freer access to video cameras. During the early age of the internet, this was made possible through shifts to DSL and the mass adoption of webcams. Nowadays, 4G and 5G wireless internet alongside the ubiquity of smartphone cameras have made video chat open to almost everyone.
Actual Implementation
As for the areas where video streaming succeeds, the prime examples share one major factor – they are one way. Streaming video games and music on Twitch, for example, is an experience where only the host is visible. This acts like a more interactive TV channel, where viewers can freely communicate through text, but the only person on video is the one who has specifically chosen to be.
The same concept applies to the growing landscape of live dealer casinos in online betting. These games work as easily as any other online casino games, except they stream real dealers instead of relying on computers entirely for the other end. Online platforms such as Pure Win or Betway host live roulette and blackjack games, as well as more esoteric titles like Wheel of Fortune, enticing new players with welcome offers and bonuses. Like Twitch, the only person on the video is the professional dealer, who the users can talk to, which means any type of fatigue for players is avoided.
What Comes Next?
Though the early ’20s were filled with pushes to make direct video chat a new normal, the issues with a two-way chat approach and the success of one-way systems could finally put a nail in this communication coffin. As long as businesses and organizations realize the strain these systems can have on individuals, work and educational use could be reduced to the rates we experience in personal communication.
It is also possible that fully virtual takes on the video chat environment could arrive to take some of the stress off the problems video chat creates. Pushes by companies like Meta have opened potential on this front, though it is too early to tell what effect implementation of these systems could have in real-life use. With enough experience with video communication now to say what users like and what they don’t, we can only hope managers listen.
Also Read: YouTube Defaults Videos to 480p SD to Cope Most People at Home
