Phubbing

Thanks to the myriad advances of technology, we have chances to open our mind and reveal our thinking to the world. This benefit has brought the world closer to each other. We get to know people from around the world, know their cultures, their wonders, amazing stories and pieces of interesting information. All it takes are just a few touches on the screen. Sadly, that is also the reason people are turning their faces to their phones instead of each other’s faces.

If you have problem resist staring at your smartphone, congratulations, you are not alone! “Phubbing”, the behavior of focusing on digital devices like smartphones and ignoring others’ presence, is no longer an unfamiliar phenomenon around us. No matter we do it on purpose or it happens to be just an irresistible habit, we trading the attention on the surrounding to the exciting things appear on the “digital rectangles”.

Phubbing in a normal conversation with acquaintances costs us a bad reputation and poor social interaction. Phubbing in a conversation with the beloved one costs us a relationship. Obviously, no one wants to ignore the presence of the beloved ones. However, resistance is never the first decision that reaches our mind. Emma M. Seppälä (2017) shares the following:

There’s an irony in phubbing: When we’re staring at our phones, we’re often connecting with someone on social media or through texting. Sometimes, we’re flipping through our pictures the way we once turned the pages of photo albums, remembering moments with people we love. Unfortunately, however, this can severely disrupt our present-moment, in-person relationships, which also tend to be our most important ones. (para. 2)

The reason we are the phone at such level, Seppälä (2018) explains, is that we are properly “looking for inclusion”. However, the consequences can never be replaced once they happen. Conflicts and decreased satisfaction in a relationship, which phubbing leads to, are hard to avoid. People who are patient enough will gently remind us to put a limit on our addiction. Vice versa, people will just walk out of your life.

With such consequences, it might be time for us to reconsider our lifestyle. As long as we realize our inappropriate behavior, we can still change to be better. Imaging your time with the loved ones is limited, will it wiser to focusing on your digital devices or making memories with them? 

References:

Ducharme, J. (2018). ‘Phubbing’ Is Hurting Your Relationships. Here’s What It Is. Time. Retrieved from http://time.com/5216853/what-is-phubbing/.

Seppälä, E. (2017). Phubbing—The #1 Phone Habit to Drop For Better Relationships. Psychology Today. Retrieved from https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/feeling-it/201711/phubbing-the-1-phone-habit-drop-better-relationships.