Though not the most elegant expression, phubbing has become so common that it has made its way into the dictionary alongside other newly relevant social terms like selfie, photobombing and FOMO (fear of missing out). A combination of phone and snubbing, phubbing describes the act of ignoring a companion in favour of engaging with a phone.
Now, research by at the University of Georgia and at the University of Oklahoma shows that whether or not someone regularly participates in phubbing depends on their personality.
According to data gathered from 472 people, mainly undergraduate students, at the University of Georgia, those who are the most depressed, socially anxious and neurotic are the most likely to phub.
Advertisement
“Phubbers tended to be seeking some sort of reinforcement,” says Samp. “If you’re feeling uncertain about yourself or you’re in a high anxiety mode, you’re often looking for support from a community and that’s where the phone comes in.”
Samp says there is also some degree of FOMO involved. If you are turning to a community for support, digital social connections can become even more important than in-person friendships, so you want to stay on top of them.
We don’t yet know the long-term repercussions of phubbing, but according to this research and other studies on the subject, it does appear to harm our relationships. Just as phubbing has previously been shown to among couples, the new study found it did the same with friends.
People want to feel like they are being heard in a conversation and when that doesn’t happen, they get less satisfaction from that relationship, says Ty Tashiro, author of The Science of Happily Ever After. He says that asking questions, making eye contact and engaging in a conversation are all what psychologists call “approach motivations”, while “avoidance motivations,” such as phubbing, are oriented towards avoiding potentially uncomfortable in-person social interactions.
On the other side of the coin, those who rate highly on the personality trait agreeableness were much less likely to be phubbers.
“People who are high in agreeableness are less egocentric about social interactions, so it’s not surprising that they would want to avoid behaviour that is rude or not empathetic,” says Tashiro.
The social isolation and increase in digital communication experienced by many during the pandemic may see phubbing become more common, says Tashiro. Still, any increased urges to phub are unlikely to be permanent. “We’re all a little rusty socially, but we’ll get over it,” he says.
Behaviour & Information Technology
Sign up to our free Health Check newsletter for a round-up of all the health and fitness news you need to know, every Saturday
