Teresa Garratty: Zoom is great…or is it?

I’m sure you’ve all heard of the popular app Zoom, which is becoming a hugely useful tool for everyone (hearies included) during lock-down.

It’s the go-to software for both professional and social interaction, so much so that I’m starting to wonder whether the creators weren’t behind the pandemic all along *insert epic plot twist sound effect here*.

On the one hand, this is great. Hearing and deaf people can stay connected with their family and friends and there’s very little excuse to not make online webinars accessible. I’ve been watching a fab one all week called the “TV mindset” and there has been an interpreter present on screen for all of them.

So it looks like all gaps are being bridged and inclusivity is on the rise…except it’s not really, because as with all things, there is still a darker, crappy “other hand” and we definitely need to talk about it.

Not everyone can take advantage of the simulated human interaction provided by Zoom.

Some of us are the only deaf members of our non-signing family. We can’t understand them any better via video calls than we do by phone calls. Lip reading video isn’t as easy as lip reading in real life and even then, we all know that a big percentage of that relies on guess work and getting it wrong…a lot.

Maybe we can stick to text, but the point of video calling is an attempt to “be with” that person. You use video because you want to see them. See them react, laugh, smile etc, so you can replicate that much needed personal interaction that we unfortunately have to avoid for now.

So as the rest of the family settle in for another night of Zoom bingo/poker/scattergories, the deaf family member isn’t included. Maybe they could sit and watch their family play, but that would just feel even more isolating.

There’s also the work side of lockdown. A lot of us are out of work or have lost jobs entirely due to lockdown. While Zoom and video calling can open opportunities and increase access, it can also be extremely disheartening at the same time.

I am seeing post after post of the token Zoom screenshot, announcing a collaborative project here or business meeting there providing work for all those little faces in their little rectangles; meanwhile some sit there battling financial anxiety, wondering when it will be their face in one of those tiny rectangles.

It’s doing nothing but creating pressure for all of those out of work, and other than a bit of humble bragging and boasting, it serves no real purpose. You don’t need to share it, not right now. Unless you’re trying to market something everyone can be part of, advertising opportunities available for others, why not keep it to yourself?

Just FYI, I had a video meeting this week, didn’t announce it on social media, didn’t take a screen shot of everyone waving at the camera and I didn’t die, so I’m pretty sure it’s safe to not rub that sort of thing in other people’s faces given the current economic climate.

Finally we come to the social and fun side of Zoom video calling! Except it’s probably not that fun when you’re not part of it.

I know that all of the pub nights, quizzes and general group chats have no ill intent and were probably created with the idea of “getting people together” but the problem is, no matter how hard you try, someone will always be left out.

More heartbreakingly, it will usually be the more lonely of all the people you know.The people who you were probably leaving out before lockdown even started, so you haven’t really noticed. The people that you think are introverted and don’t like that sort of thing. The people that live alone because they prefer their own company anyway.

They don’t mind being left out during a global pandemic, they’re OK with seeing all their so called “friends” making a huge effort to socialise with other people but not them, they don’t mind that, right? It might help us all to remember that just because a cactus doesn’t need a lot of water, doesn’t mean you can’t check its soil from time to time.

The not-so-wholesome reality of all these Zoom parties/meetings is that so many people are being excluded, left out and made to feel worthless. It has the same repercussions that Instagram created, people are seeing things that they’re not a part of, that they don’t have, and they are being made to feel worthless. All at a time when the entire world is already crumbling into a painfully depressing state.

By all means, I think you should have your parties, your family games nights, your exciting project meetings but do you really need to tell everyone about it? Do you really need to show off how popular you are? And how many people have thought to include you? Can you not keep your private Zoom calls exactly that, private?

Show some humility and share something that everyone can be a part of; the world needs more of that right now.