Ahh, the good old Zoom meeting — something we’ve become all too familiar with this past year. Like any form of technology, Zoom has its issues.

The first one I’ll touch on is the waiting room. What exactly is the point of that? I mean, I get it for appointments, but there should be a way to disable it for classes. There is nothing worse than when your professor doesn’t realize that you haven’t been let in and you end up missing your class. “It was like being on a deserted island!” exclaimed a frenzied student after missing the review session for his exam because he had never been let out of the waiting room. No way to send a chat to the professor. No way to communicate with other people in the waiting room. Just alone in the dark abyss. 

I said that there is nothing worse than being left in the waiting room, but I’m going to take that back because that is not nearly as bad as not leaving Zoom. This issue is one that I have experienced first hand. Picture this: it’s a Friday morning and you are exhausted. This week has absolutely kicked your behind. Beat you to a pulp. You could just keep sleeping, But, being the good student you are, you decide to join your class on Zoom. This ended up being a huge mistake because you can barely even pay attention since the professor’s voice is so monotone and the class is not interactive by any means. You can barely hold your eyes open. You turn off the camera. “What harm can it do if I just rest my eyes for a few seconds?” you think to yourself. Turns out the answer to that question is: a lot. 

You end up absolutely knocking out as your professor continues to give his lecture. Your body enters a coma-like state that not even the sound of an air horn could pull you out of. Twenty minutes later, your class ends. Everyone thanks the professor and exits the zoom room, until it’s just the two of you left. “Hello? Do you have a question about the material?” asks your professor. No response. “Well I’m not sure where you are but I’m going to end the meeting now… have a nice day,” he says with a tone of uncertainty in his voice. Half an hour later you wake up next to your laptop, which is still on with the zoom tab open, and realize the grave mistake you made.

Personally, I’m not sure how much longer I can go singeing my corneas from staring at my laptop all hours of the day. I mean it isn’t like we have many other options  considering the current situation the world is facing, but I think most if not all of us can agree that we’re hoping this doesn’t last forever.