Phone snubbing also known as “phubbing” is the act of ignoring someone in a social setting by looking at your phone.
Researchers at Baylor University in Texas found that “phubbing” leads to low levels of relationship satisfaction.
“These lower levels of relationship satisfaction, in turn, led to lower levels of life satisfaction and, ultimately, higher levels of depression,” study author James A. Roberts, a professor of marketing at Baylor is quoted as saying by Fox News.
To arrive at this conclusion, the researchers conducted two surveys.
In the first survey, 308 participants were asked to identify actions they’d see as snubbing by their partners. In addition to “phubbing”, actions included keeping a phone within eyesight, Fox News reported.
145 persons were used in the second survey and more than 46 percent reported being “phubbed” by their partners. 22 percent of the participants also reported “phubbing” caused conflict in their relationship.
“In everyday interactions with significant others, people often assume that momentary distractions by their phones are not a big deal,” study author Meridith David, Ph.D, assistant professor of marketing said.
“However, our findings suggest that the more often a couple’s time spent together is interrupted by one individual attending to his/her cellphone, the less likely it is that the other individual is satisfied in the overall relationship.”
Phil