How Phones Ruin Relationships: What Is Phubbing And How Serious Is It?

There is a new term that describes how people tend to pay more attention to their phones than the person they are with. “Phubbing” may ruin relationships so people have to define it clearly and understand the consequences.

Digital Trends wrote that phubbing is the act of snubbing someone in a social setting by looking at your phone instead of paying attention. New research showed that phone snubbing is become a real epidemic in the United States. People who phub may be taken as rude and inconsiderate, but there are more serious implications to know about.

The results of the study were published in the journal “Computers In Human Behavior”. Professor James Roberts of Baylor University’s Hankamer School of Business and his group observed 453 adults all over the United States in two separate experiments.

During the first test, 308 individuals were requested to identify behaviors of phubbing, which helped the researchers create a 9-item scale to show whether a person is committing phubbing or not. In the second test, 145 adults were asked to point out the behaviors they experienced in their relationships and further asked about how secure and satisfied they felt in their relationships and whether they were depressed or worried about their partners’ behaviors.

The researchers concluded that when people thought of their partners to be phubbers, there was conflict in the relationship. 46.3 percent of the participants stated that they experienced phubbing from their partners, while 22.6 percent said that phubbing caused problems in the relationship.

The results also showed that phubbing can cause depression and lower rates of overall life satisfaction. Although some people only spend a few seconds checking their phones, the study showed that there are greater negative effects toward the phubbed partners. Phubbing can lead to feelings of inadequacy or insecurity.

Yahoo Health said 37 percent of the participants shared that they felt depressed sometimes due to the collective addictions that people have to their phones.

People should become aware of the signs of phubbing, such as glancing at their phones while talking to someone, checking the phone during mealtimes, always placing the phone on a spot where it is always visible, and pulling out the cellphone when it rings or beeps even if they are in the middle of a conversation, among others.

Stopphubbing.com is among the new movements geared towards controlling phubbing and its consequences. The habit can actually be managed so phone users are encouraged to spread the guidelines.