We may all hate them, but it seems like parrots don’t mind video calls
Four years ago and almost overnight, the world became digital. With workers worldwide being sent home as governments began issuing pandemic warnings, companies were forced to adopt new, online ways of working.
These days, the thought of joining yet another video conference call fills many of us with dread, and in recent years there have been multiple studies highlighting the employee fatigue that comes with endlessly using digital tools to connect with colleagues.
However, a new study (albeit about parrots) shows that chatting with friends, family and even colleagues via the screen could actually be good for our mental health.
Parrots love video calls (yes, we typed that right)
A recent one study by the University of Glasgow and Northeastern University, who investigated how parrots interact with video chat technology and video recording, found that the social creatures show a preference for real-time conversations with other parrots.
The small-scale study, which lasted six months, involved just nine parrots. However, the researchers found that the birds showed the same types of interactions as in real life when connecting with others via the Internet.
From the parrots’ perspective, they were taught to start video calls by ringing a bell and selecting a bird on a screen.
The parrots’ keepers also recorded the (less) positive impact of the birds watching pre-recorded videos, highlighting how more human interaction can help employees feel more connected at work compared to receiving an email email or instant message.
For many employees, remote and hybrid working continues to provide the flexibility they want and need. This research shows that video calls can be an effective way to maintain social contacts without having to travel to the office.
Another promising finding from the research is that a more animal-centric Internet could help enrich the lives of animals in captivity, giving us a glimpse of a potentially lucrative market that could follow in the years (or decades) to come.