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I've been wanting to say more about why we should never force anyone to turn on their camera in a Zoom session, and also why constant Zooming can be tiring...
Difficulty with looking at oneself in a mirror is a very common symptom of trauma.
Zooming with the camera on is like having to stare at yourself in a mirror while also seeing everyone else stare at you.
It's like a mirror squared.
Zooming with the camera on is like having to stare at yourself in a mirror while also seeing everyone else stare at you.
It's like a mirror squared.
Lot of work on this in the trauma literature, but here's one piece if you'd like to read more. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6008582/
So in short, please do not force anyone to be on camera. Not aligned with what we know about trauma-aware teaching. Not aligned with an equity mindset. Not good for basic stress either. Audio only works great.
One other reading rec for you is van der Kolk's The Body Keeps the Score. He writes about trauma survivors who are not able to recognize themselves in the mirror. While I've not yet read anything about video confs and trauma, I think it's fair to extrapolate here...
