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Ignoring friends in favor of phone can be damaging, study says
The habit of spending a lot of time on your phone in a social setting can cause significant damage to a relationship, a study suggests.
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The habit of spending a lot of time on your phone in a social setting can cause significant damage to a relationship, a study suggests. (Shutterstock/Doucefleur)
P
hubbing, a portmanteau of "phone" and "snubbing", is a relatively new word that describes the habit of using a phone in a social setting, thereby ignoring those with you. The rise of the term is outlined in YouTube video "Phubbing: A Word is Born".
Phubbing was coined in large part to discuss the negative consequences that using a phone has on relationships. The word rose to popularity thanks to a campaign by Macquarie Dictionary, backed by advertising agency McCann. It involved lexicographers, authors and poets.
A recent study from the University of Kent looked into the effects of phubbing and found that “increased phubbing significantly and negatively affected the way the person being phubbed felt about their interaction with the other person,” according to the report.
Read also: Seeing intimacy through the glass of anxiety
Researchers looked at 153 participants, each of whom were instructed to watch an animation of a conversation and imagine themselves taking part in it. There were three scenarios: no phubbing, partial phubbing or extensive phubbing.
It was then found that as the levels of phubbing increased, people became more upset, as there was more of a threat toward the basic human need of connecting. The more phubbing occurred, the more participants believed that the relationship was lacking in significance and meaning.
Researchers Varoth Chotpitayasunondh and Karen Douglas of Kent’s School of Psychology believe that phubbing can greatly damage a sense of belonging, self-esteem, meaningful existence and control. (sul/mut)
