Too much to process? Exploring the relationships between communication and information overload and videoconference...

Area of Science:

• Communication Studies
• Psychology
• Human-Computer Interaction

Background:

• Videoconferencing offers convenience but has led to videoconference fatigue (VF).
• The Limited Capacity Model of Motivated Mediated Message Processing (LC4MP) provides a theoretical framework for understanding these effects.
• Verbal communication overload is a key factor contributing to user strain.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the impact of verbal communication overload on information overload and videoconference fatigue (VF).
• To test the conceptual model using two empirical studies in educational and professional contexts.

Main Methods:

• Study One: Survey of 489 students in an educational setting.
• Study Two: Survey of 610 participants in Singapore and 948 in Germany in professional settings.
• Utilized the LC4MP framework to analyze data.

Main Results:

• A consistent positive relationship was found between videoconference frequency and communication overload across both studies.
• Perceived communication overload was positively associated with both information overload and videoconference fatigue (VF).

Conclusions:

• Frequent videoconferencing contributes significantly to communication overload.
• Managing communication overload is crucial for mitigating information overload and videoconference fatigue.
• Further research is needed to explore theoretical and practical implications for videoconferencing design and use.