Prevalence and Predictors of Zoom Fatigue and Its Association with Cognitive Load in Adolescents: A Cross-Sectional Survey Study

Abstract

Background and Study Aim
The proliferation of synchronous videoconferencing platforms (e.g., Zoom) in educational settings has precipitated concern over “Zoom fatigue” psychological and cognitive exhaustion following extended online interaction (Bailenson, 2021; Fauville et al., 2023). PMC+3Stanford News+3Virtual Human Interaction Lab+3 Concurrently, in online learning environments, the concept of cognitive load, the working-memory burden on learners has gained critical significance (Skulmowski & Rey, 2022). SpringerLink+1 The present study thus aimed to (1) estimate the prevalence of Zoom fatigue among adolescents engaged in remote/virtual schooling, (2) identify key predictors of Zoom fatigue (e.g., session frequency, screen time, socio-demographic variables), and (3) examine the association between Zoom fatigue and cognitive load (intrinsic, extraneous, germane) in this population.
Material and Methods
A cross-sectional survey was administered to N = 780 adolescents aged 13–18 years enrolled in urban public secondary schools during an online-learning period. Inclusion criteria required at least two synchronous videoconference lessons per day; exclusion included diagnosed neurological or psychiatric disorders. A stratified cluster sampling frame (by school, grade) was used. The instrument comprised the adapted Zoom Exhaustion & Fatigue Scale (ZEF) and the Cognitive Load Questionnaire (adapted from Sweller et al., 1998), with sociodemographic and usage-pattern items. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics, chi-square tests, t-tests, and linear regression models (α=.05)
Results
The prevalence of moderate-to-high Zoom fatigue (ZEF ≥ 4 on a 5-point scale) was 22.4%. Significant predictors (p < .01) included female gender (β = 0.18), ≥ 4 videoconf. sessions/day (β = 0.25), self-view on during sessions (β = 0.12), and lower break-time between sessions (β = –0.14). Regression analysis indicated that extraneous cognitive load mediated the relationship between session frequency and Zoom fatigue (indirect effect β = 0.09, 95% CI [.05, .14]).
Conclusion
Zoom fatigue is prevalent among adolescents in virtual schooling, and is meaningfully associated with increased extraneous cognitive load, supporting a cognitive-load theoretical framework for videoconference exhaustion. Educational policymakers and EdTech designers should consider scheduling constraints, interface settings (e.g., self-view disablement), and cognitive-load reduction in virtual pedagogy.