According to new research, the act of "phubbing," or phone snubbing, is a real epidemic in the U.S. Not only is it rude, but it may be some serious consequences.
A paper published in Computers in Human Behavior concludes that ignoring people like your partner in favor of your phone can lead to them being depressed and feeling less satisfied with life.
Professor James Roberts from Baylor University led the research, with his team surveying 453 adults around the country in two experiments. In the first, 308 people were asked to identify behaviors associated with phubbing — such as whether or not their partner placed their phone where they could see it often or whether or not their partner glanced at their phone often. The answers helped researchers developer a 9-item scale that indicated phubbing.
The second experiment involved 145 adults and dove deeper into the effects of phubbing. Participants were asked to identify the behaviors they experienced in their relationships, as well as how secure they felt in their relationship. They were also asked how anxious or depressed based on their partner's behavior.
In a perhaps unsurprising outcome, researchers found that the more partners phubbed, the more conflict was felt in the relationship. The surprise, however, was how much this occurs. Of the participants, 46.3 percent said they experienced phubbing from their significant other, and 22.6 percent said that it led to problems in their relationship.
Even if the partner only glanced down at their phone for a moment every now and then, those seconds can quickly add up — weighing on the other person's mind. In fact, 37 percent of respondents said that they felt depressed at least some of the time, and the authors believe this can be attributed to the collective addiction to our phones.
If you too feel like your partner is phubbing, you can head to stopphubbing.com, where you will find information about phubbing and how to put an end to it.
Via: Digital Trends
