Data availability
The data (raw and cleaned) collected by the research team and reported in the main text and the supplementary materials are available on Research Box (https://researchbox.org/2398), except for the parole and interview transcripts, because the IRB states that should not be shared publicly to protect identity. Source data are provided with this paper.
Code availability
All custom code used to clean and analyse the data is available on Research Box (https://researchbox.org/2398).
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Acknowledgements
We thank the Jerome A. Chazen Institute, Columbia University, Cornell University and the University of Missouri-Kansas City for their support of this research; the actors and research assistants who supported data collection and stimuli generation; and G. Donnelly, S. Van Osselaer, K. Duke, Y. Bigman and M. Pham for their constructive support and feedback.
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Extended data figures and tables
Extended Data Fig. 1 Video-call use across industries in 2023–2024.
Even several years post-pandemic, video calling remains prevalent across widespread, consequential life domains that are relevant to people from different demographic and psychographic populations. 1. Thomson Reuters Institute. State of the Courts Report https://www.thomsonreuters.com/en-us/posts/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2024/02/2024-State-of-the-Courts-Report.pdf (2024). 2. Jacob B. A. & Stanojevich, C. Rewiring the classroom: How the COVID-19 pandemic transformed K-12 education. Brookings https://www.brookings.edu/articles/rewiring-the-classroom-how-the-covid-19-pandemic-transformed-k-12-education/ (2024). 3. Baumgartner, M. 150+ Video Conferencing Statistics for 2025. Zebracat https://www.zebracat.ai/post/video-conferencing-statistics (2025). 4. Cottrill, A., Cubanski, J. & Neuman, T. What to Know About Medicare Coverage of Telehealth. KFF https://www.kff.org/medicare/issue-brief/what-to-know-about-medicare-coverage-of-telehealth/ (2024). 5. Searing, L. A pandemic legacy: Majority of mental health appointments stay remote. The Washington Post https://www.washingtonpost.com/wellness/2024/02/12/mental-health-online-telemedicine-therapy/ (2024). 6. Definitive Healthcare. Hospital telehealth adoption by state. https://www.definitivehc.com/resources/healthcare-insights/hospital-telehealth-adoption-by-state (2024). 7. Public Opinion Strategies. 2024 National Telehealth Survey. https://pos.org/2024-national-telehealth-survey/ (2024).
Extended Data Fig. 2 Glitches in organic conversations are associated with lower social connection across multiple dimensions.
Individuals who self-reported experiencing verified technical glitches liked their partners less (Mcontrol = 5.08, s.d. = 1.00, Mglitch = 4.84, s.d. = 1.02, b = –0.24, s.e. = 0.05, t(3072) = –4.65, P < 0.001, Cohen’s d = –0.24, 95% CI = –0.34, –0.14), perceived less of a shared reality together (Mcontrol = 4.62, s.d. = 1.19, Mglitch = 4.32, s.d. = 1.15, b = –0.30, s.e. = 0.06, t(3065) = –4.87, P < 0.001, Cohen’s d = –0.25, 95% CI = –0.49, –0.15), and felt less heard by their partner (Mcontrol = 5.86, s.d. = 0.85, Mglitch = 5.66, s.d. = 0.87, b = –0.20, s.e. = 0.04, t(2884) = –4.52, P < 0.001, Cohen’s d = –0.23, 95% CI = –0.33, –0.13). Importantly, glitches had no significant relationship with our placebo control factor (b = 0.05, s.e. = 0.05, t(3176) = 1.14, P = 0.256, Cohen’s d = 0.05, 95% CI = –0.05, 0.15), suggesting the effects are not driven by response bias in the participant’s survey responses (whereby the negative experience of the glitch leads to lower ratings across all measures). Because items used different response scales, we rescaled all items to 1–7 based on their theoretical scale ranges (e.g., mapping the 1–9 theoretical range to 1–7). Observed maxima after rescaling may be below 7 if participants did not use the full range of the original scales. Data (N = 1645) are depicted as Means ± 95% CIs. All statistical tests were two-sided, and no adjustments were made for multiple comparisons.
Extended Data Fig. 3 Uncanniness mediates the effect of glitches on interest in working with the communicator.
a, (Main Study, N = 497): When glitches were present, the proportion of participants choosing to meet with the health professional was 16 percentage points lower (P = 61%), versus control (P = 77%; b = –0.75, s.e. = 0.20, t = –3.76, P < 0.001, Cramer’s V = 0.17, 95% CI = 0.09, 0.26). Supporting our mechanism, participants also felt a greater sense of uncanniness when observing the glitchy video call (Mcontrol = 2.06, s.d. = 1.29, Mglitch = 2.89, s.d. = 1.59, b = 0.83, s.e. = 0.13, t = 6.41, P < 0.001, Cohen’s d = 0.58, 95% CI = 0.40, 0.076), and this sense of uncanniness mediates the negative effect of glitches on choosing to meet with the focal provider over other providers (abindirect_effect = –0.04, 95% CI = –.07, –.02). b, (Conceptual Replication (CR), N = 486): Glitches undermined willingness to work with a financial advisor (Mcontrol = 4.33, s.d. = 1.34 versus Mglitch = 3.59, s.d. = 1.49, b = –0.74, s.e. = 0.13, t = –5.69, P < 0.001, Cohen’s d = –0.52, 95% CI = –0.70, –0.34), and this was driven by a heightened sense of uncanniness during the glitchy video call (Mcontrol = 1.72, s.d. = 1.10, Mglitch = 2.93, s.d. = 1.65, b = 1.21, s.e. = 0.13, t = 9.49, P < 0.001, Cohen’s d = 0.86, 95% CI = 0.68, 1.04; abindirect_effect = –0.45, 95% CI = –0.58, –0.34).
Extended Data Fig. 5 Jokes attenuate but acknowledgements exacerbate the negative effects of glitches.
Minor glitches during the video call reduced participants’ interest in working with the communicator (Mcontrol = 4.36, s.d. = 1.47 versus Mglitch = 3.84, s.d. = 1.56, b = −0.52, s.e. = 0.11, t = −4.70, p < 0.001, Cohen’s d = –0.34, 95% CI = –.49, –.20). When the advisor acknowledged the glitches, participants were less interested in working with him compared to the glitch alone (Macknowledge = 3.60, s.d. = 1.43, b = −0.26, s.e. = 0.11, t = −2.15, P = 0.031, Cohen’s d = –0.16, 95% CI = –.30, –.02). Participants who received the joke at the end of the pitch were slightly more interested in working with the financial advisor relative to the glitch condition (Mglitch = 4.06, s.d. = 1.56, b = 0.22, s.e. = 0.11, t = 1.99, P = 0.046, Cohen’s d = 0.14, 95% CI = 0, 0.28). However, all three glitch conditions were significantly lower than the control condition (P values < 0.001, Cohen’s ds > 0.2). Data (N = 741) are depicted as Means ± 95% CIs. All statistical tests were two-sided, and no adjustments were made for multiple comparisons.
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Brucks, M.S., Rifkin, J.R. & Johnson, J.S. Video-call glitches trigger uncanniness and harm consequential life outcomes. Nature (2025). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-025-09823-0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-025-09823-0