Zooming in on Privacy: Nonverbal Communication During a Pandemic

Abstract

In the spring of 2020, Marissa¹ attended a Zoom meeting with her coworkers, boss, and boss’s boss (the regional manager). Marissa’s university campus closed (moving postspring break to entirely online instruction). Everyone in her workplace was now working remotely. Marissa was home a great deal more than usual, so her dog enjoyed her increased presence around the house. Springing into her lap during the Zoom, the dog made an appearance. Still, as Marissa went to put him down on the floor, he promptly urinated into the air and onto her keyboard, in full view of everyone at the meeting.

Ally was babysitting her younger brothers and two cousins. She went to a more private part of the house where she could still hear the boys and logged in to attend a virtual meeting with one of her professors. She thought she partially closed the door to the room, but apparently forgot this step. Ally’s charges started yelling and fighting, and then a loud crash came from the other room. Ally bolted from the room to see what was broken and to stop the shouting and fighting, not realizing that her professor could both see and hear the events in the house. Ally was mortified that her professor might deem her scatterbrained, as well as a lousy babysitter.

While finishing his degree, William became familiar with Zoom meetings by working on a political campaign in the fall of 2020. Almost everyone on the campaign worked remotely, not necessarily because of the pandemic. Most staffers attended from home offices, some positioned in front of bookshelves, but others preferred their kitchens as meeting settings. Some used custom backgrounds and some had occasional “intruders” (children, spouses, pets), but few attended via audio-only or by phone. All made serious attempts to be visible in their Zoom squares, although some had technical difficulties. Preferring his home office as a setting, William was acutely aware of how his background should look to communicate an appropriate image for both campaign and university meetings.