Phubbing: what it is and why it should not only be considered a form of rudeness but also a wake-up call

Phubbing, or snubbing friends to look at their smartphone, is a more frequent behavior in those with anxiety and depression

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Phubbing, or snubbing friends to look at their smartphone, is a more frequent behavior in those with anxiety and depression

Phubbing is the circumstance, or rather the behavior of those people who "snub" them in the presence of their friends to look at their mobile phones or other devices. A new study has found that this habit is linked to depression and anxiety.

It will also have happened to you that someone, despite your company, will want to consult their smartphone to read emails, send messages, go on social networks or other. Well this way of "snubbing" the friends with whom you are sharing your time live has a technical name: phubbing, a word that is somewhere in between “Phone” (cell phone) and “snubbing” (snubbing).

There are those who consider it a form of contemporary rudeness but such behavior, according to a study, has a connection with depression or anxiety. It occurs more in people who suffer from these problems and, more generally, from high levels of neuroticism.

The research, conducted by a team from the University of Georgia, revealed positive associations between depression and social anxiety and an increase in the phenomenon of phubbing. In practice, people who are more anxious or depressed, who tend to prefer online social interactions to face-to-face communication, are also likely to exhibit a more marked tendency to phubbing.

And, of course, some people who have high social anxiety or depression are more likely to be addicted to their smartphone, '' said Juhyung Sun, lead author of the study.

This bad habit can have serious repercussions on relationships, and there are a number of factors that can cause people to ignore their friends in favor of an electronic screen.

I have observed that so many people use their phones while they are sitting with their friends at the bar, at any time, at lunch, regardless of the type of relationship.

Phubbing is also more likely and frequent in the presence of three or more people.

Personality traits such as neuroticism also influence phubbing behavior. The study revealed that individuals with a calmer and more sociable character hardly fall into phubbing in the presence of their friends, on the contrary they tend to exhibit cooperative, polite and friendly behaviors in their interpersonal relationships and in social environments.

Source: University of Georgia / Behavior & Information Technology