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Margot Harris
2020-04-10T14:01:13Z
- Zoom, a popular video-chatting platform, has become a critical component of remote meetings for many students and workers.
- The platform, however, has experienced security issues — and people are quickly tiring of the monotony of endless videoconferencing.
- As people grapple with their new normal, they're finding humor in the absurdity of the Zoom takeover — and they're sharing their experiences online.
- Visit Insider's homepage for more stories.
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Adapting to the new normal of physical isolation, distance learning, and working remotely requires fortitude, patience, and the ability to use Zoom, a video-chatting platform facilitating classes and meetings around the globe.
The platform, while playing a critical role during global social distancing efforts, has also become a pain: between issues of Zoom "raiding" and the monotony of online classes, the endless videoconferencing mishaps are exhausting users.
Luckily, people are finding the humor in their newfound Zoom dependence, and they're sharing their funniest Zoom mishaps, hacks, backgrounds, and video conferencing outfits online.
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The adjustment to distance learning and remote work is inevitably accompanied by some mishaps — and Zoom users are diligently sharing those mishaps with the world.
From screen sharing mistakes to difficulties navigating video calling features to unintentional nudity, working and learning from home has proven to be eventful.
—Magdalena Paz (@magdalenapaz22) March 16, 2020
—Rachele with an e but pronounced Rachel (@PettyClegg) March 30, 2020
—daniel taroy (@danieltaroy) March 16, 2020
—erin griffith (@eringriffith) March 24, 2020
—Rita Meade (@ScrewyDecimal) March 17, 2020
—Jason Pearl (@jasoninmia) March 28, 2020
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Students are also posting their Zoom woes — and sharing hacks to make online school less monotonous.
From struggling to pay attention to completely forgetting to go to class at all, students are grappling with the new normal — and posting their woes and best hacks online.
—BrussoKait❤️ (@BrussoKaitlyn) April 4, 2020
—𝖏 𝖔 𝖓 𝖎 🌹 (@Jonaniswin) April 7, 2020
@jaydotmims I’m sry but this sound was TOO good not to use💀💀 ##fyp ##coronavirus ##onlineclass ##4u ##coro ##college ##zoom ##videocall ##comedy ##foryoupage
♬ Funny MICKEY - Lil Yachty,Offset,Lil Baby
@bigisammich Zoom baby ##zoom ##college ##online ##class ##ra ##residentassistant ##freshmanyear ##college ##uab ##itbelikethat ##oops ##collegelife
♬ original sound - iamlukefoley
@vladimir_pudding_ when professors say online classes till april 14th... ##xyzbca ##coronavirus ##zoom ##college
♬ we got him - jesusman66
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Some Zoom callers are joking about the confusing etiquette of remote meetings and classes.
From the politics of muting your mic to the work-from-home tardiness, Zoom etiquette is proving to be difficult to navigate — while providing excellent online content.
—Dani Burger (@daniburgz) March 30, 2020
—Solomon Georgio (@solomongeorgio) April 4, 2020
Another adjustment to distancing learning is navigating the etiquette of hand-raising, Twitter user @avparnell (who goes by Annie) discovered.
—annie (@avparnell) April 9, 2020
Annie, a college junior, struggled to adapt to the "weird[ness]" of participating remotely in discussion-based classes, so she took to Twitter with her interpretation of awkward hand-raising on Zoom.
"It's really weird raising your hand in a Zoom class. You kind of feel ridiculous asking to speak from your own home, and it's a lot more significant to interrupt someone when suddenly you're taking up the whole screen," Annie told Insider. "Basically I just noticed myself and others doing weird little salute things with our hands that reminded me of the pictures."
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Naturally, some of the best Zoom content addresses the ever-important issue of finding the perfect background.
Perhaps Zoom's best feature is its capacity for users to upload backgrounds images of their choice — and choosing an image is a responsibility that callers are not taking lightly.
From images channeling pandemic woes to a particularly epic background video of someone walking in on himself in a meeting, Zoom backgrounds are a testament to how creative people are getting in their quarantine free time.
—Runa Sandvik (@runasand) April 4, 2020
—caitie delaney (@caitiedelaney) April 4, 2020
—Holly x (@hollyshortall) April 6, 2020
—Jared Norman (@SuperGoodJared) April 3, 2020
—Adam Karpiak (@Adam_Karpiak) April 9, 2020
—Raya (@RobDa64) March 26, 2020
—Lesbian Disaster (@xespera) March 24, 2020
—Evren Sirin (@sirinevren) April 5, 2020
—Dan Crowd (@itsdancrowd) April 3, 2020
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Other Zoom callers are sharing their inspired work-from-home looks.
Twitter user Sacha Coward, a museum freelancer whose area of study is mermaid folklore, posted a potential Zoom call outfit — one that was clearly in line with his academic interests.
"So I've got this really important Zoom meeting to get ready for... maybe a bit much?" he captioned the photo.
—Sacha Coward (@sacha_coward) April 9, 2020
The post received nearly 1,000 likes and several comments of encouragement.
Coward told Insider that he discovered the mermaid tail, a remnant from an event at the National Maritime Museum last year, while prepping for a "legit" Zoom talk. Ultimately, he decided not to dress as a merman for the call but posted the tweet for fun.
Others, however, are fully committing to wearing creative getups for their Zoom meetings.
Twitter user @capnjazzercise, who goes by Kate, posted several of her photos of her uncle, Justin, who has been dressing up in themed outfits for daily Zoom meetings with his biotech company.
—Twilight Stan (@capnjazzercise) March 25, 2020
After seeing several people post online about funny interactions they've had on Zoom since transitioning to remote work, Kate decided to share a few of Justin's greatest hits.
"I wanted to share about my uncle because he deserves recognition for his creativity," she told Insider.
While Kate could only post four photos in one tweet, her aunt has a whole Facebook album dedicated to Justin's best Zoom looks, including "Disco Justin," Justin as "The Dude" from "The Big Lebowski," and "Lumberjack Justin."
Other Zoom callers are making do with the limited clothes they have.
TikTok user Mansfield Holmes posted a video of his makeshift Zoom class attire — which amounts to his leftover clothes from high school athletics.
@mansfieldholmes Me,,, in ALL of my zoom classes ##fyp ##foryoupage ##xyzbca ##gamingszn ##zoom ##onlineclasses
♬ original sound - mansfieldholmes
"When your college doesn't let you go back to get your clothes," he captioned the video.
Read more:
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