Are you the type to still continue looking at your phone even when you’re with friends?
Ignoring your friends over a disagreement is one thing, but ignoring them in favor of your phone is something else that experts are warning many people against these days. Not only does it lead to feelings of distrust, but it eventually causes ostracism among your friends and loved ones.
The said term is called “phubbing”—a portmanteau of “phone” and “snubbing”—can be insidious according to a recent study.
1. How did phubbing start?
Coined in May 2012, the term was first used by an Australian advertising agency to describe the alarming yet growing phenomenon of people advertently ignoring their friends and family to scroll their phones instead. Not too long, the “Stop Phubbing” campaign was launched.
2. What are the effects of phubbing?
Aside from the obvious effect of interrupting one’s ability to be present and engage with the people around you, Phubbing is said to have a lasting effect on mental health. There is depreciated satisfaction according to one study from the end of the “phubber,” that could affect even marriages.
However, the bulk of its effects are those on the receiving end of the snubbing. A study in the Journal of Applied Social Psychology found that phubbing threatens the four fundamental needs of individuals namely belongingness, self-esteem, meaningful existence, and control.
3. How to stop Phubbing?
Apart from acknowledging that someone is prone to phubbing, it is also very important to establish clear efforts of countering the said bad habit.
- Designate a no-phone zone. If your chosen solution is to just keep your phone inside your bag or away from you during the entire engagement with friends and family, then stick with it. Regardless of how challenging it may be.
- Talk about it. Discuss the bad habit with your loved ones because in doing so you would also allow them the assurance that you are making extra efforts to end that nasty habit.
- Encourage friends to call you out. Apart from conscious effort, curbing that bad manner would also be virtually easier if you have someone who is there to call you out.
After all, you don’t have to stop using your phone to prevent phubbing. You just have to be more aware and become more mindful of your actions when you’re around other people.
Banner Art Dani Sison
