We've all been guilty of doing it.
Phubbing your partner may sound like a rude or painful act and although it isn't actually, it still has the potential to seriously damage your relationship.
The term is formed by two words, snubbing and phone and as you have probably guessed by now, it is when you are in the company of your significant other but choose to spend your time on the phone instead.
According to Baylor University, the phenomenon is a relationship killer and the Texas researchers say that 70% of their sample of 143 individuals felt that their partner’s phone interfered with their relationship.
In a study entitled,
'My life has become a major distraction from my cell phone': Partner phubbing and relationship satisfaction among romantic partners, it was found that phubbing had a negative impact on relationship satisfaction as well as life satisfaction and has also been linked to depression.
One of the leads of the study, Dr James Roberts states:
"The presence and use of cell phones are ever-increasing causing the boundaries that separate our work and other interests from our romantic relationships to become more and more blurred.
"As a result, the occurrence of phubbing is nearly inevitable. In fact, from a sample of 143 individuals involved in romantic relationships, 70% responded that cell phones ‘sometimes,’ ‘often,’ ‘very often,’ or ‘all the time’ interfered in their interactions with their partners."
Roberts even goes as far as saying that simply looking at your phone in the presence of your partner can be enough to harm your relationship.
Almost 40% of those surveyed said they felt depressed as a result of being 'phubbed.'
"[Phubbing] can create a domino effect: As our study also showed, when we're not happily in love, we are also less likely to be satisfied, overall, with life. We’re also more likely to report that we are depressed."
