Abstract

Since the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been a rise in the use of synchronous videoconferencing. For individuals with elevated social anxiety, this new normal mode of communication may result in anxiety during videoconferencing. While videoconferencing, individuals often have a view of their own mirror image. This mirror image on the screen may enhance self-focused attention. The research examining the potential effects of self-focused attention on social and videoconferencing anxiety is limited. Additionally, no measure to date measures individuals’ different types of anxiety reactions while videoconferencing. Consequently, this study’s purpose was to develop a measure of videoconferencing anxiety and investigate the association between this construct, self-focused attention, and social anxiety. Four hundred fifty-six participants completed the Videoconferencing Anxiety and Avoidance Questionnaire (VAAQ), developed for this study, the Self-Focused Attention scale, and the Social Phobia Scale. Based on an exploratory factor analysis, the VAAQ was found to consist of four distinct factors: Focus on Appearance, General Anxiety and Avoidance, Negative Appraisal of Appearance, and Distraction and Interference. Results from bivariate correlation analyses suggest that social anxiety and self-focused attention were significantly associated with all of the VAAQ factors. Overall, these findings indicate that social anxiety can extend into videoconferencing anxiety and that higher levels of self-focused attention may exacerbate this relationship. Clinical implications of the VAAQ and future research directions are discussed.

Keywords: videoconferencing, social anxiety, self-focused attention, videoconferencing anxiety, Videoconferencing Anxiety and Avoidance Questionnaire

Funding: The authors have no funding information to disclose.

Disclosures: The authors have no known conflicts of interest to disclose. Data Availability: Data have been made available through the Open Science Framework (see https://doi.org/10.17605/OSF.IO/T8M4N). These data have not been submitted to or published in any other journals.

Open Access License: This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC-ND). This license permits copying and redistributing the work in any medium or format for noncommercial use provided the original authors and source are credited and a link to the license is included in attribution. No derivative works are permitted under this license.

Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Brian Fisak, Department of Psychology, School of Psychology, Florida Institute of Technology, 150 West University Boulevard, Melbourne, FL 32901, United States. Email: [email protected]

Social anxiety is characterized by an intense fear of one or more social situations due to the fear of being negatively judged or observed by others (American Psychiatric Association, 2022). Socially anxious individuals have reported having impaired friendships (Rodebaugh, 2009), difficulty maintaining romantic relationships (Wenzel et al., 2005), and feelings of isolation (Teo et al., 2013). A model developed by Clark and Wells (1995) highlights the potential cognitive biases and processes that tend to lead to the development and maintenance of social anxiety. Among these proposed biases held by socially anxious individuals is the belief that they are likely to act in a socially undesirable or unacceptable way and that their behavior will result in others negatively evaluating them. Thus, individuals may often attempt to avoid social situations where they feel others may scrutinize them or endure high levels of distress when avoidance is not possible. There is an enormous amount of research in support of the model proposed by Clark and Wells (Grisham et al., 2015; Makkar & Grisham, 2013; McEwan & Devins, 1983; Norton & Abbott, 2016).

Videoconferencing helped keep many people connected in occupational, social, and educational settings, especially during COVID-19. Postpandemic, videoconferencing seems to continue to be a common practice. Despite the benefits of videoconferencing, social interactions through videoconferencing platforms may have detrimental effects on individuals with elevated levels of social anxiety (Horn & Behrend, 2017; Vriends et al., 2017). For those with heightened social anxiety, videoconferencing can produce the same amount, if not more, anxiety and stress as in-person interactions (Azriel et al., 2020). One reason for this effect is that the unique features of videoconferencing may cause challenges in a person’s ability to read or accurately interpret nonverbal behaviors. Indeed, seeing only one’s face can lead to different emotion recognition than when seeing one’s body (Martínez et al., 2016). Further, Riedl (2022) proposed that an individual’s inability to read body language while videoconferencing obstructs their ability to accurately perceive other’s emotions. Additionally, other important behaviors, such as eye contact, are significantly different when communicating through a videoconferencing platform rather than in person. The lack of eye contact in videoconferencing can result in heightened self-awareness and feeling more distant from others (Kaiser et al., 2022). Additionally, Bailenson (2021) proposed that the typical videoconferencing screen makes the faces of others on the call look roughly 50 cm away. Having faces this close can make one feel that they are being closely stared at and trigger increased physiological arousal (Bailenson, 2021). This may be particularly problematic for individuals with social anxiety, as they may have a tendency to misinterpret ambiguity with a negative bias. In turn, this could lead to elevated anxiety.

The live mirror images (mirror image windows) typically displayed by default in videoconferencing platforms may be of relevance in understanding the potential relationship between social anxiety and videoconferencing. This relationship may facilitate negative self-evaluation, driven partly by self-focused attention, and the awareness of internally generated information such as bodily states, thoughts, memories, personal beliefs, attitudes, emotions, and moods (Boehme et al., 2015). The tendency to engage in self-focused attention may lead individuals to overestimate the intensity of their physiological reactions in social interactions, such as their heart rate, face redness, and sweating (Bögels et al., 1996). Thus, it plays an important role in the metacognitive processes of social cognition, leading individuals to make assumptions about how others perceive them and their motivations. Self-focused attention has been found to be related to the severity of social anxiety symptoms (Noda et al., 2021). For individuals with clinical levels of social anxiety and those with subclinical social anxiety, self-focused attention can negatively impact self-referential beliefs and performance (Boehme et al., 2015). Furthermore, lowering self-focused attention may result in better treatment outcomes for individuals with social anxiety disorder (Vriends et al., 2017).

Videoconferencing platforms such as Zoom, Skype, Facetime, Microsoft Teams, and Facebook Messenger all have a mirror or window where individuals can see their own images. This mirror is often a default setting on these platforms. Having this mirror image of oneself while videoconferencing may increase levels of self-focused attention. In a study of private and public self-awareness in social anxiety, George and Stopa (2008) found that participants who were exposed to live reflections of themselves (either via video or mirror) experienced increased anxiety and public self-awareness. Another study found that self-focused attention was high when receiving criticism and compliments via video conference, regardless of anxiety status (Vriends et al., 2017). Miller et al. (2017) found that when individuals could see video feedback of themselves during videoconferencing, they were more worried about how others perceived them versus when they could not see a mirror image of themselves during a conversation. Despite this potential association, few studies have assessed how social anxiety and self-focused attention are related to videoconferencing anxiety and avoidance behaviors. No studies have assessed the various types of anxiety or avoidance behaviors individuals may exhibit during synchronous videoconferencing.

The Present Study

The present study adds to a relatively small number of studies that have investigated the connection between social anxiety and videoconferencing (Miller et al., 2021; Vriends et al., 2017). There were two primary goals of this study. The first was to develop a comprehensive measure designed to assess numerous potential responses to videoconferencing, both emotional and cognitive. With item construction, particular consideration was made to include items that assess potential self-focused attention due to videoconferencing. The second purpose of this study was to examine the degree to which trait social anxiety is associated with videoconferencing anxiety and how trait self-focused attention interacts with this relationship.

Previous research has suggested that individuals with social anxiety experience increased anxiety symptoms when videoconferencing (Azriel et al., 2020). Therefore, it is hypothesized that higher levels of social anxiety will predict higher levels of videoconferencing anxiety-related reactions.

Method

Participants

A total of 456 participants (female = 297, 65.1%; male = 152, 33.3%; nonbinary = 5, 1.1%; prefer not to say = 2, 0.04%) between the ages of 18 and 65 (M = 19.09, SD = 3.43) were recruited from a large public university in the Southeastern United States. All participants were undergraduate students and were recruited through the institutional online research participation system. All participants were offered extra credit in exchange for their participation. In the sample, 58.1% of participants identified as Caucasian/White, 21.9% as Hispanic, 10.3% as Asian/Pacific, 7.2% as African American/Black, and 2.4% as other.

Measures

Social Phobia Scale

The Social Phobia Scale (SPS; Mattick & Clarke, 1998) was used to measure participants’ levels of social anxiety. The SPS consists of 20 items that measure anxiety associated with being watched doing various daily activities (eating, writing, etc.) or being looked at by others. Participants rated how much each item described them using a 5-point Likert scale ranging from 1 (not at all characteristic or true of me) to 5 (extremely characteristic or true of me), with higher scores suggesting higher levels of social anxiety. The SPS has demonstrated good concurrent validity, with the scale having strong correlations with other measures of social anxiety, including the Social Avoidance and Distress Scale (.54) and the Fear of Negative Evaluation Scale (.60). Additionally, the SPS shows good discriminant validity, as scores have been found to distinguish between social phobia and other forms of anxiety such as agoraphobia and simple phobia. Finally, the SPS has shown good internal consistency (Cronbach’s α = .94) and good test–retest reliability (Mattick & Clarke, 1998). In the present study, Cronbach’s α was good (α = .95).

Self-Focused Attention Scale

The Self-Focused Attention Scale (SFA) is a self-report measure designed to assess the general tendency to engage in self-focused attention during social interactions (Bögels et al., 1996). The measure appears to be both reliable and valid in previous literature (Cronbach’s α = .88, within-factor loadings between .52 and .83). The SFA consists of eleven items: five items refer to self-attention focused on one’s arousal and six items concern self-attention directed to one’s interpersonal behavior. Items included prompts such as “I’m constantly focusing on whether I behave tensely,” and responses were recorded on a 5-point Likert scale from (never) to (very often). In the present study, Cronbach’s α was good (α = .92).

Videoconferencing Anxiety and Avoidance Questionnaire

The Videoconferencing Anxiety and Avoidance Questionnaire (VAAQ) is a measure developed for this study to assess subjects’ experiences during past videoconferencing sessions. Self-report scales are central to the measurement of both clinical status and therapy outcomes of anxiety disorders (Mattick & Clarke, 1998). The VAAQ is a set of questions inquiring about the participant’s thoughts, feelings, and behaviors during videoconferencing. More specifically, the VAAQ addresses potential themes related to videoconferencing anxiety, including self-focused attention, body image concerns, general anxiety, and performance. It consists of 37 items rated on a 5-point Likert scale ranging from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree). Items included statements such as “When videoconferencing, I hide the window/mirror that allows me to see myself whenever possible.” and “In general, I feel anxious when asked to speak when videoconferencing.”

Procedure

Participants were asked to sign up for online time slots through an online subject participation system. Upon opening the survey, participants would first give informed consent before completing the survey that contained measures pertaining to social anxiety, videoconferencing anxiety, and self-focused attention. This study was conducted in compliance with approval from the Internal Review Board at the University of Central Florida. Data is available through Open Science Framework (Fisak, 2024). Data were collected from Fall 2021 through Spring 2022.

Results

Factor Analysis

An exploratory factor analysis using the principal axis extraction method was conducted with a promax rotation to determine the factor structure of the VAAQ. Based on scree plot analysis and inspection of items, a four-factor solution was retained. Items were retained on a particular factor if loading was .4 or above on one factor and below .3 on all other factors. Factors and item loadings are provided in Table 1. Items that were excluded can be seen in Table 2.

The first factor, labeled Focus on Appearance, included eight items that appear to assess preoccupation and/or distraction with one’s own appearance while videoconferencing. Sample items include “I tend to be distracted by the window/mirror with my own image when videoconferencing” and “I think about how others may be judging my appearance when I am videoconferencing.” The second factor, labeled General Anxiety and Avoidance, included nine items that appear to measure feelings of anxiety about videoconferencing and avoiding videoconferencing-related behaviors. Sample items include “In general, I feel anxious when asked to speak when videoconferencing” and “When possible, I turn off my camera so that others cannot see me when I am videoconferencing.” The third factor, labeled Negative Appraisal of Appearance, included eight items that appear to assess body image concerns while videoconferencing. This factor is exemplified by feeling that one’s appearance looks distorted or having a negative body image while videoconferencing. Sample items include “I negatively judge my appearance during videoconferencing calls” and “I feel insecure with the way I look during videoconference calls.” The fourth factor, labeled Distraction and Interference, included four items and appears to measure being distracted by oneself during videoconferencing. Sample items include “Seeing and/or hearing myself when videoconferencing interferes with my ability to speak with others” and “During videoconferences, seeing my own image interferes with my train of thought when I am trying to speak.” Finally, it is noteworthy that Cronbach’s α was calculated for the VAAQ as a measure of reliability (internal consistency). The obtained Cronbach’s α for the VAAQ was excellent (α = .96).

Descriptive Statistics and Validity

The means and standard deviations of the study measures are presented in Table 2. Convergent validity of the VAAQ was assessed by examining the association between the VAAQ and potentially overlapping constructs. In particular, it was anticipated that the VAAQ would be significantly and positively associated with social anxiety and self-focused attention. Based on a series of bivariate correlations, all subscales of the VAAQ were found to be significantly and positively associated with self-focused attention, measured by the SFA, with correlation coefficients ranging from .50 to .43. Further, all subscales of the VAAQ were significantly and positively associated with social anxiety, as measured by the SPS, with correlation coefficients ranging from .53 to .68. See Table 3 for more details. In addition, there was a significant effect for gender for all variables, indicating that women scored higher on SPS, SFA, VAAQ, and all four of the VAAQ’s subscales (see Table 4). There was no significant effect for race/ethnicity or age for these variables.

Discussion

The primary goals of this study were to develop a comprehensive self-report questionnaire to measure anxiety and avoidance behaviors related to videoconferencing and to use this questionnaire to determine if more general or trait social anxiety and self-focused attention are associated with avoidance, anxiety, and general discomfort related to videoconferencing. The VAAQ, developed for this study, appears to be the first comprehensive measure of videoconferencing anxiety and avoidance. Based on preliminary examination, the psychometric properties of the VAAQ are promising, as the VAAQ total score exhibited good internal consistency. Further, support was found for the convergent validity of the VAAQ, as the measure was found to be significantly and positively associated with measures of social anxiety and self-focused attention.

Based on the results of the exploratory factor analysis, the VAAQ was found to consist of four distinct factors: Focus on Appearance, General Anxiety and Avoidance, Negative Appraisal of Appearance, and Distraction and Interference. The four VAAQ factors were found to be significantly and positively associated with social anxiety and self-focused attention. This is consistent with previous findings that suggest that socially anxious individuals experience videoconferencing-related anxiety (Azriel et al., 2020) and that videoconferencing is related to heightened levels of self-focused attention (Bailenson, 2021). Overall, these current findings provide support for the validity of the VAAQ as a measure of videoconferencing-related anxiety, and they suggest that the VAAQ may be useful in identifying individuals who are at risk for experiencing social anxiety.

A number of noteworthy observations can be gathered from these findings. First, the findings elucidate the nature of videoconferencing anxiety and avoidance. In particular, the authors found four facets of discomfort and avoidance related to videoconferencing anxiety. The identification of these factors may provide valuable insight into how individuals perceive themselves and others during videoconferencing and may inform interventions to reduce negative effects and improve overall communication outcomes. Further, each of these facets has the potential to lead to distress and impair performance and the ability to communicate effectively. Related to this point, these findings have implications for the assessment and treatment of individuals with social anxiety and other individuals with appearance-related concerns. In particular, clinicians may be able to identify how videoconferencing impacts these individuals, and this may assist in treatment planning.

More generally, this study contributes to a growing body of research on the psychological impact of technology-mediated communication and may have implications for individuals, organizations, and technology developers. For example, the above findings are consistent with the study conducted by Doorley et al. (2020) that suggested that videoconferencing may be just as (or even more) anxiety provoking than other types of social interactions. A possible reason for this may be that many videoconferencing platforms display a mirror image of a person, which may increase social anxiety due to their increased levels of self-focused attention. Additionally, the unique features of interacting with others through videoconferencing (challenges in reading nonverbal behavior, having a mirror image of oneself, pauses in conversation) may cause social anxiety symptomatology for those who also experience these disturbances in typical face-to-face interactions.

The significant and positive association between trait social anxiety and videoconferencing anxiety and avoidance is noteworthy for a couple of reasons. First, this finding provides support for the validity of the VAAQ. Further, these findings indicate that underlying schemas and behavioral patterns exhibited by individuals with social anxiety tend to generalize to situations involving videoconferencing. As with social anxiety, self-focused attention was found to be significantly related to videoconferencing anxiety-related behaviors (Miller et al., 2017; Vriends et al., 2017). This finding suggests that trait self-focused attention (i.e., the general tendency to engage in self-focused attention) may impact how individuals experience and react to videoconferencing. More specifically, the general tendency to engage in self-focused attention was associated with facets of videoconferencing anxiety and avoidance.

Limitations and Directions for Future Research

Despite the unique contribution to the research literature, the study has some noteworthy limitations and directions for future research. The first limitation pertains to the use of self-report measures, which are prone to reporting errors such as response bias. Subsequent studies may address these self-report barriers by applying these measures or testing the hypotheses in a laboratory setting.

The findings pertaining to the psychometric properties of the VAAQ should be considered preliminary, and more research is needed to assess the reliability and validity of the VAAQ. More specifically, subsequent exploration of the factor structure of the VAAQ is recommended. Further, more research is needed to assess the reliability of the VAAQ, including test–retest reliability. In terms of validity, the present study provided initial support for the convergent validity of the VAAQ; however, more research is needed to explore other measures of validity, including criterion validity, content validity, and discriminant validity. For instance, one direction is to measure the degree to which the VAAQ represents a construct that can be distinguished from measures that assess a more general fear of technology.

An additional limitation relates to the sample used in the study. Specifically, as a nonreferred college student sample, the sample was found to be younger, more racially diverse, and had a higher percentage of females than the general U.S. population (U.S. Census Bureau, 2021). In response to this limitation, a direction for future research would be to utilize a more generalizable sample that is representative of the population. Further, it is recommended that subsequent studies examine the psychometric properties of the VAAQ in clinical samples (e.g., a sample of individuals with social anxiety disorder). This includes the ability of the VAAQ to discriminate between individuals with and without social anxiety. Additionally, a confirmatory factor analysis of the VAAQ is needed to provide more evidence of its reliability and the factor structure of the VAAQ.

It is also noteworthy that the VAAQ emphasizes general discomfort and avoidance in response to videoconferencing. However, the present study did not assess discomfort levels relative to other modalities of communication. The research in terms of preferred modality of communication is limited and has yielded inconsistent results. At least one study found that individuals with higher levels of social anxiety may prefer interacting with other people through digital communication because it allows them to avoid aspects of social interaction they may fear, such as being able to hide their appearance (Erwin et al., 2004). In contrast, other studies have found that individuals with social anxiety are not more likely to prefer videoconferencing to face-to-face communication (Doorley et al., 2020). Consequently, it is recommended that subsequent studies also continue to examine whether socially anxious individuals prefer videoconferencing communication over other forms of communication (i.e., in-person communication).

Future research should address videoconferencing anxiety and related behaviors in specific interactions such as professional interviews, medical or therapeutic appointments, or communicating with friends. This research would clarify if specific types of interactions that occur while videoconferencing invoke anxiety versus the general act of videoconferencing. Further, this research could assess performance in interactions such as job interviews as it relates to videoconferencing anxiety, avoidance, self-focused attention, and social phobias. Additionally, future studies should investigate the differences, if any, in anxiety levels when having to meet in person versus over a videoconferencing platform. This research will help clarify if videoconferencing anxiety is produced by the act of having to meet with another person or if it is due to the unique features of videoconferencing.

Finally, the present study placed more of an emphasis on social anxiety and self-focused attention from a social perspective. However, it is noteworthy that two of the factors on VAAQ have themes emphasizing appearance. As a result, more research related to body image and videoconferencing is needed. Previous research in this area indicates that videoconferencing may be problematic for individuals with body image dissatisfaction. For example, there is evidence to suggest that videoconferencing is related to an increased desire for cosmetic surgery (Hart et al., 2022) and dissatisfaction with facial appearance (Cristel et al., 2020).

Overall, the VAAQ provides a useful tool for measuring and examining these constructs in future research. The VAAQ may elucidate some of the concerns and experiences that socially anxious individuals experience when videoconferencing. Understanding the factors that contribute to videoconferencing anxiety and avoidance can inform the development of interventions aimed at reducing the negative impact of these behaviors on individuals’ social and professional lives. More generally, these results highlight the importance of considering the psychological impact of technology-mediated communication and may have implications for individuals, organizations, and technology developers seeking to improve the quality and effectiveness of videoconferencing experiences. This study also provides insight into how self-focused attention can interfere with videoconferencing anxiety and performance. Future research can expand on this work to develop effective interventions to address videoconferencing anxiety and related behaviors. Finally, we hope that additional research will be conducted to confirm the factor structure of the VAAQ and to refine the measure.

Copyright © The Author(s) 2024

Received November 21, 2023
Revision received August 24, 2024
Accepted August 26, 2024