“Phubbing refers to the act of ignoring one’s immediate social interactions in favor of engaging with a smartphone” (from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phubbing). The word is a combination of “phone” and “snubbing.”
Since the word was coined and the phenomenon became common from the early 2010’s, significant research on phubbing has taken place. Like many facets of our digital world where large for-profit corporations and governments work to build devices and applications that make people ever more dependent on and even physically addicted to technology, phubbing leads to negative consequences. Increasingly, despite a digitally-connected world, people feel isolated and lonely and are driven to seek supposed connection through their smartphones–which leads to phubbing behaviors when these individuals are actually interacting with other people. The result is even worse feelings of loneliness and isolation.
Remember that smart phones, laptops, chatbots, AI and all technology are tools.
You wouldn’t think it seeing people phubbing, walking their dogs while staring mutely at their phones, or any of a thousand similar behaviors, but none of these things are essential. You can still live life well without being always plugged in.
Think of technology as tools, not as a lifestyle. Use the tools appropriately to do a job or complete a task (make a call, make a purchase, etc.) … and then remember that your phone, your computer, your tablet all have handy buttons and slides and other ways to put them to sleep or turn them off. Actually do it. Your phone, your computer, etc. don’t have to be the most important things in your life 24 hours a day. And you don’t have to be available to technology 24 hours per day …
Put them away, turn them off, lift your face away from the screen. Look at and listen to the actual world around you. You may be surprised by what you see and hear!
For advice on lessening smartphone addiction/dependence, try —
Roose, Kevin. (2019, February 23). Do Not Disturb: How I Ditched My Phone and Unbroke My Brain. New York Times. (requires subscription)
What does the research say about phubbing —
*Chotpitayasunondh, V., & Douglas, K. M. (2018). The effects of “phubbing” on social interaction. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 48(6), 304-316. [PDF] [Cited by]
“This research experimentally investigated the social consequences of “phubbing” – the act of snubbing someone in a social setting by concentrating on one’s mobile phone. Participants viewed a three-minute animation in which they imagined themselves as part of a dyadic conversation. Their communication partner either phubbed them extensively, partially, or not at all. Results revealed that increased phubbing significantly and negatively affected perceived communication quality and relationship satisfaction. These effects were mediated by reduced feelings of belongingness and both positive and negative affect. This research underlines the importance of phubbing as a modern social phenomenon to be further investigated.”
*Arenz, A., & Schnauber-Stockmann, A. (2024). Who “phubs”? A systematic meta-analytic review of phubbing predictors. Mobile Media & Communication, 12(3), 637-661. [Cited by]
“Phubbing (i.e., snubbing someone in face-to-face interactions by focusing on one’s phone instead of those present) has increased enormously in recent years and has become a widespread usage phenomenon that is associated with negative consequences, for instance for relationships and friendships. To better understand the predictors of phubbing behavior, the present paper provides a systematic overview of the growing research field. Based on a meta-analytic review of 79 studies and 526 effect sizes, we identified 10 higher-level predictor categories of phubbing behavior: sociodemographics, personality, technology-related norms & experiences, technical equipment, (smart)phone & Internet use, problematic use, well-being, psychopathology, and resilience as well as risk factors. The results of the three-level meta-analysis models indicated that the strongest predictors were problematic use patterns.”
*Nuñez, T. R., & Radtke, T. (2024). Is socially disruptive smartphone use detrimental to well-being? A systematic meta-analytic review on being phubbed. Behaviour & Information Technology, 43(7), 1283-1311. [Cited by]
“Phubbing—i.e. excluding and ignoring others through smartphone use—is a pervasive phenomenon. Yet, a comprehensive understanding of its consequences is still lacking. This systematic meta-analytic review aimed to (1) synthesize the associations between being phubbed and emotional and cognitive, social, and behavioural well-being, (2) test the strength of these associations, and (3) investigate moderating influences. Literature searches according to PRISMA-guidelines yielded k = 83 included studies. Random-effects meta-analyses were conducted for 24 of 72 extracted consequences. Subgroup analyses were performed for phubbees’ relationship to interlocutors, age group, and study design. The overall sample was N = 53,916 with a mean age of 19.68 years. Being phubbed was moderately to strongly (e.g. ρˆ = .23–.75) associated with various adverse consequences (e.g. depression, relationship dissatisfaction, derogation of interlocutors, smartphone addiction). Effects were larger for adolescents than for adults. The findings are in line with existing theoretical assumptions (e.g. the temporal need-threat model of ostracism) corroborating that phubbing is a detrimental experience. Thus, phubbing appears to be a public health issue which should be addressed through suitable interventions in order to enhance healthy human-human and human-technology interactions.”
See also —
Using social media: effects on well-being and mental health
Narcissism and social media–the connection
Questions? Please let me know (engelk@grinnell.edu).
2 comments
Comments are closed.