7 ms·

I'm a full time remote consultant. I've noticed anecdotally that over the last year 80% of my contacts have started muting their camera all the time. Some cite

by hashkb 7y ago

I'm a full time remote consultant. I've noticed anecdotally that over the last year 80% of my contacts have started muting their camera all the time. Some cite "bandwidth" or other silly excuses; most just say nothing. I'm as insecure about my appearance as anyone else- what's the deal? I keep my camera on until it's obvious that nobody else is going to show their face. Then I have to be the awkward one to turn off.

JumpCrisscross 7y ago
> 80% of my contacts have started muting their camera all the time...what’s the deal? I do this. My camera is always broken. I’m fine with audio, don’t like cheapening face-to-face meetings with video, and don’t see the reason to get ready for a remote meeting to which a video of my face adds zero value. It’s a preference which costs nothing, so I exercise it. (If it’s a negotiation, why would I give my facial expressions away for free?)
PowerfulWizard 7y ago
I do a mix of video chat and conference calls, I don't feel the face cam really adds anything, but it is nice to have the ability to share the screen to review information, which is a reason to do video chat with the cam disabled.
techslave 7y ago
why is it awkward?
inflatableDodo 7y ago
I don't then have to get out of the bath.
ianbicking 7y ago
I've been doing video meetings for years, and I've seen video muting go up and down based on team expectations / social morays, general engagement, and the kind of meetings (e.g., one where lots of people are just trying to get some situational awareness, but aren't really participating). I personally get annoyed when people video mute by default, and when I was a manager it was something I would bring up in 1:1s. Lurking on meetings is fine, but if you have a real role in the meeting and you aren't multitasking a meal or something, I feel strongly you should have your video on and be engaged, and most of the time when people are video muting it's because they are hiding their distraction and lack of attention, or else it's reached a critical mass where people are muting just to fit in. Now that I'm an IC again generally the best I can do to encourage people to unmute is just name them: "hey Joe, are you there?" even though I know full well they are connected. It's admittedly a bit passive aggressive, but it's also a way of gently telling the person they aren't being present, and it's unlikely I'm the only person who notices. I also mute myself for the wrong reasons, so I'm not trying to make this an indictment of individuals. But it's so easy for people to drift away from their work, especially when you are remote, and we need to look out for each other and not just accept dysfunctional behavior.
- couchand 7y ago
  Wow I hope we never work together. A mature team trusts one another and assumes the best. If I got that feedback from a manager in a one-on-one I would put in notice that day. What a horrible attitude to bring to your work interactions.
  - ycombobreaker 7y ago
    If you had a private conversation with your manager, and they asked you to "be more present" at telemeetings via unmuting your video stream, your response would be to QUIT? Maybe before that point you should talk through the topic with your manager. Surely the best result for everyone is to have a shared understanding, rather than making what seems like a minor communication "difference of opinion" a dealbreaker.
    - couchand 7y ago
      This is not a simple communication breakdown, it's assuming bad faith without any evidence. That is a red flag of a toxic work environment. Don't let your manager gaslight you.
      - ycombobreaker 7y ago
        You seem to assuming as much bad faith as you believe the OP is assuming. Is this (edit: your preference re: muting) a generational thing? Because I definitely see it as a reasonable expectation that somebody at a telemeeting would be visible-by-default, and only muted in specific circumstances such as large meetings, or after citing some abnormal local situation (e.g. not "presentable"). I believe body language is important and generally find communication still has "dimensional" improvements in efficiency, moving from text chat to voice to video+voice. However, I can also see that my expectations are not shared by you, based on your strong response. My gut tells me this is related to different communication norms with "digital natives." I think your assumptions of malice and inability to learn on the part of the manager are misplaced.
felipelemos 7y ago
In my opinion people tend to mute their cameras more when the chat involve big groups and/or third party to their team. If is a team call or a small group trying to solve a problem, the chances to have the camera on are higher. In essence, the camera gives you a more intimate feeling, and depending on the situation people are more or less inclined to it.
p1mrx 7y ago
> muting their camera Shouldn't the verb be "blinding" in this case?
zeta0134 7y ago
This is a personal anecdote, but I don't mind meeting people in person. I can do face to face conversations all day long. The minute you point a camera at me though, I shut down socially. I'm suddenly extremely self conscious about my personal appearance and my behaviors and mannerisms, and that stress makes the whole thing unpleasant. I'm not sure why this is. I think it's not helped that subconsciously, video feels one way. A participant can be looking right at me but I can't know that, because I don't know where my face is relative to their camera. So, I assume that all participants are watching me all the time, even if that's an irrational assumption, and even though 99% of them won't care if I scratch my nose or something.
- colanderman 7y ago
  I video-mute for the same reason. My face adds nothing to the conversation, except to make me feel self-conscious. So I video-mute so I can give the conversation my focus, rather than my appearance. I don't want to take meetings in a panopticon.
  - sethammons 7y ago
    Your face does add something though. We've evolved to be visual. If I'm just meeting you, an image goes a long way in cementing who you are in my brain. Seeing your expressions helps me gauge my message's reception. Is it absolutely required? Of course not. It is an additional value add to communication. Just like voice adds context you can't get with text.
maxxxxx 7y ago
Personally I don't want to see the other person during a video conference. I find it distracting.
dagw 7y ago
Video takes focus. If I know I'm being watched I end up spending a lot of focus making sure I'm sitting still, keeping my face neutral and looking into the camera. With the camera off I don't have to care about those things and I can focus more on what is being said and what I'm saying, or tune it out and get on with my work if its a group discussion that turns to a topic I'm not part of.

by hashkb 7y ago

JumpCrisscross 7y ago

> 80% of my contacts have started muting their camera all the time...what’s the deal? I do this. My camera is always broken. I’m fine with audio, don’t like cheapening face-to-face meetings with video, and don’t see the reason to get ready for a remote meeting to which a video of my face adds zero value. It’s a preference which costs nothing, so I exercise it. (If it’s a negotiation, why would I give my facial expressions away for free?)

PowerfulWizard 7y ago

I do a mix of video chat and conference calls, I don't feel the face cam really adds anything, but it is nice to have the ability to share the screen to review information, which is a reason to do video chat with the cam disabled.

techslave 7y ago

why is it awkward?

inflatableDodo 7y ago

I don't then have to get out of the bath.

ianbicking 7y ago

I've been doing video meetings for years, and I've seen video muting go up and down based on team expectations / social morays, general engagement, and the kind of meetings (e.g., one where lots of people are just trying to get some situational awareness, but aren't really participating). I personally get annoyed when people video mute by default, and when I was a manager it was something I would bring up in 1:1s. Lurking on meetings is fine, but if you have a real role in the meeting and you aren't multitasking a meal or something, I feel strongly you should have your video on and be engaged, and most of the time when people are video muting it's because they are hiding their distraction and lack of attention, or else it's reached a critical mass where people are muting just to fit in. Now that I'm an IC again generally the best I can do to encourage people to unmute is just name them: "hey Joe, are you there?" even though I know full well they are connected. It's admittedly a bit passive aggressive, but it's also a way of gently telling the person they aren't being present, and it's unlikely I'm the only person who notices. I also mute myself for the wrong reasons, so I'm not trying to make this an indictment of individuals. But it's so easy for people to drift away from their work, especially when you are remote, and we need to look out for each other and not just accept dysfunctional behavior.

couchand 7y ago
Wow I hope we never work together. A mature team trusts one another and assumes the best. If I got that feedback from a manager in a one-on-one I would put in notice that day. What a horrible attitude to bring to your work interactions.
- ycombobreaker 7y ago
  If you had a private conversation with your manager, and they asked you to "be more present" at telemeetings via unmuting your video stream, your response would be to QUIT? Maybe before that point you should talk through the topic with your manager. Surely the best result for everyone is to have a shared understanding, rather than making what seems like a minor communication "difference of opinion" a dealbreaker.
  - couchand 7y ago
    This is not a simple communication breakdown, it's assuming bad faith without any evidence. That is a red flag of a toxic work environment. Don't let your manager gaslight you.
    - ycombobreaker 7y ago
      You seem to assuming as much bad faith as you believe the OP is assuming. Is this (edit: your preference re: muting) a generational thing? Because I definitely see it as a reasonable expectation that somebody at a telemeeting would be visible-by-default, and only muted in specific circumstances such as large meetings, or after citing some abnormal local situation (e.g. not "presentable"). I believe body language is important and generally find communication still has "dimensional" improvements in efficiency, moving from text chat to voice to video+voice. However, I can also see that my expectations are not shared by you, based on your strong response. My gut tells me this is related to different communication norms with "digital natives." I think your assumptions of malice and inability to learn on the part of the manager are misplaced.

felipelemos 7y ago

In my opinion people tend to mute their cameras more when the chat involve big groups and/or third party to their team. If is a team call or a small group trying to solve a problem, the chances to have the camera on are higher. In essence, the camera gives you a more intimate feeling, and depending on the situation people are more or less inclined to it.

p1mrx 7y ago

> muting their camera Shouldn't the verb be "blinding" in this case?

zeta0134 7y ago

This is a personal anecdote, but I don't mind meeting people in person. I can do face to face conversations all day long. The minute you point a camera at me though, I shut down socially. I'm suddenly extremely self conscious about my personal appearance and my behaviors and mannerisms, and that stress makes the whole thing unpleasant. I'm not sure why this is. I think it's not helped that subconsciously, video feels one way. A participant can be looking right at me but I can't know that, because I don't know where my face is relative to their camera. So, I assume that all participants are watching me all the time, even if that's an irrational assumption, and even though 99% of them won't care if I scratch my nose or something.

colanderman 7y ago
I video-mute for the same reason. My face adds nothing to the conversation, except to make me feel self-conscious. So I video-mute so I can give the conversation my focus, rather than my appearance. I don't want to take meetings in a panopticon.
- sethammons 7y ago
  Your face does add something though. We've evolved to be visual. If I'm just meeting you, an image goes a long way in cementing who you are in my brain. Seeing your expressions helps me gauge my message's reception. Is it absolutely required? Of course not. It is an additional value add to communication. Just like voice adds context you can't get with text.

maxxxxx 7y ago

Personally I don't want to see the other person during a video conference. I find it distracting.

dagw 7y ago

Video takes focus. If I know I'm being watched I end up spending a lot of focus making sure I'm sitting still, keeping my face neutral and looking into the camera. With the camera off I don't have to care about those things and I can focus more on what is being said and what I'm saying, or tune it out and get on with my work if its a group discussion that turns to a topic I'm not part of.