Virtual communication blunts creativity

[haidut]

The title says it all, and it is really something most people working in an office environment and engaging in daily tele-/video- conferencing already intuitively know is true. However, the mechanism through which this "creativity-killing" effect of virtual communication methods manifested itself was not quite clear until now. The study below found that it is the very nature of virtual communications that is responsible - i.e. the ability of such communication methods to put people into hyper-focused state (both mentally and visually). Apparently, creativity flourishes when a person is allowed to shift their visual focus continuously from one object to another, and the mind is allowed to do the same. While the study only looked at videoconferencing and teleconferencing in the work setting, I see no reason why the same findings would not apply to the broader use of virtual communication mechanisms including social media. Maybe the reason societies are becoming more polarized and driven by so-called "tunnel vision" politics is precisely the widespread usage of virtual communication mechanisms by most age groups. Namely, the developed countries have essentially become a mass of narrow-minded Zoom-ers. As such, the adults on which society depends for resolving social problems through creativity and collaboration end up in their own self-created echo chambers simply because they can't come up with anything new while staring at a black screen for the better part of the day.

Virtual communication curbs creative idea generation - Nature
"...COVID-19 accelerated a decade-long shift to remote work by normalizing working from home on a large scale. Indeed, 75% of US employees in a 2021 survey reported a personal preference for working remotely at least one day per week1, and studies estimate that 20% of US workdays will take place at home after the pandemic ends2. Here we examine how this shift away from in-person interaction affects innovation, which relies on collaborative idea generation as the foundation of commercial and scientific progress3. In a laboratory study and a field experiment across five countries (in Europe, the Middle East and South Asia), we show that videoconferencing inhibits the production of creative ideas. By contrast, when it comes to selecting which idea to pursue, we find no evidence that videoconferencing groups are less effective (and preliminary evidence that they may be more effective) than in-person groups. Departing from previous theories that focus on how oral and written technologies limit the synchronicity and extent of information exchanged4,5,6, we find that our effects are driven by differences in the physical nature of videoconferencing and in-person interactions. Specifically, using eye-gaze and recall measures, as well as latent semantic analysis, we demonstrate that videoconferencing hampers idea generation because it focuses communicators on a screen, which prompts a narrower cognitive focus. Our results suggest that virtual interaction comes with a cognitive cost for creative idea generation."

 

[Michael Mohn]

True.
Even artificial places like a class room in school kills creativity. There is no variation, like a prison. Some people observed that schools and prisons had the same architecture around the 19th & 20th century.

Kids observing adults acting in the real world and doing some simple assisting tasks is the best way to learn, as it still exist on some smaller farms in rural places.

Groups are naturally heterogeneous in age. The homogeneous groups of children in a school class is highly instable, the kids constantly try to establish a hierarchy with different roles like the clown, the it girls, the popular guys, the nerd... never ending unrest.

I always prefer an audio call over a video call as you can look around and you're not visually fixed on your screen.

 

[TheSir]

I feel like virtual anything blunts creativity. The mere act of staring at a screen already dulls the mind in itself.

 

[haidut]

Some people observed that schools and prisons had the same architecture around the 19th & 20th century.

...and hospitals too. In fact, many/most building that are nowadays used as hospitals in Western countries, but were built 70+ years ago, were originally used as prisons. I guess it speak volumes about how much overlap modern "education" has with "medicine", with both of those tracing their roots back to the penal system.

 

[haidut]

I feel like virtual anything blunts creativity. The mere act of staring at a screen already dulls the mind in itself.

I'd agree with that, and I think it is also the predictability/routine of the online experience that is another major factor blunting a person's creativity.

 

[Grapelander]

it focuses communicators on a screen, which prompts a narrower cognitive focus

I was placed in a building, on the 2nd floor, in an office, in a cubicle - and then told to 'think outside the box".

 

[Grapelander]

Cal Newport (Computer Science at Georgetown) advocates for digital minimalism.

"Earlier in 2016, I published a book titled Deep Work. It was about the underappreciated value of intense focus and how the professional world’s emphasis on distracting communication tools was holding people back from producing their best work. As my book found an audience, I began to hear from more and more of my readers. Some sent me messages, while others cornered me after public appearances—but many of them asked the same question: What about their personal lives? They agreed with my arguments about office distractions, but as they then explained, they were arguably even more distressed by the way new technologies seemed to be draining meaning and satisfaction from their time spent outside of work. This caught my attention and tumbled me unexpectedly into a crash course on the promises and perils of modern digital life.
Almost everyone I spoke to believed in the power of the internet, and recognized that it can and should be a force that improves their lives. They didn’t necessarily want to give up Google Maps, or abandon Instagram, but they also felt as though their current relationship with technology was unsustainable—to the point that if something didn’t change soon, they’d break, too.
A common term I heard in these conversations about modern digital life was exhaustion. It’s not that any one app or website was particularly bad when considered in isolation. As many people clarified, the issue was the overall impact of having so many different shiny baubles pulling so insistently at their attention and manipulating their mood. Their problem with this frenzied activity is less about its details than the fact that it’s increasingly beyond their control. Few want to spend so much time online, but these tools have a way of cultivating behavioral addictions. The urge to check Twitter or refresh Reddit becomes a nervous twitch that shatters uninterrupted time into shards too small to support the presence necessary for an intentional life."

 

[Yann]

Thanks for sharing Georgi. I wish there was a "Like" button or something so that we can show our gratitude everytime you share something!

 

[haidut]

I was placed in a building, on the 2nd floor, in an office, in a cubicle - and then told to 'think outside the box".

Lol, paradoxical, right?
FWIW, I think most companies these days do not really want their employees to think "outside the box". In my experience, such periodic "exercises" (especially in large companies) are done to detect "troublemakers" and get them fired for whatever reasons.

 

[Lollipop2]

In my experience, such periodic "exercises" (especially in large companies) are done to detect "troublemakers" and get them fired for whatever reasons.

How nefarious!

SO is life these days all about keep your head down, do your work, take home your paycheck so you can pay bills and not be constantly worried about making rent? BUT then stressed in your deep core because this type of life feels soulless?

Having a loving great partner/spouse relationship can maybe mitigate the grind…

 

[Quelsatron]

digital communication lacks too many dimensions of communication. it will continue to suck until some kind of 3d camera + vr is invented (and they get rid of headsets). actually i think the day you can call someone via HD hologram and just hang out for hours the world will be significantly improved