Just what we need — a new word: ‘phubbing’

phubbing-bigBy Maddy Ryan | East Valley Tribune

In today’s day and age, it can be difficult to stay up-to-date on the latest terminology teenagers are using. “Phubbing” seems to be one of the latest additions to this extensive list.

Phubbing refers to “phone snubbing,” or when your attention is on your phone rather than the people surrounding you. In a recent study done at Baylor University, scientists discovered that phubbing harms relationship satisfaction, which, in turn, negatively affects ones overall happiness.

According to the study, those with a higher attachment to their phones had a higher level of conflict in their relationships than those with less attachment.

Arizona State University sophomore, Kaitlyn Chapman, who operates and curates a popular positive-focused life advice twitter account, @cozysunflower, believes that phubbing is a term that adults believe to be true more than people her own age.

“I don’t think focusing your attention on your phone is such a bad thing. A lot of middle-aged to older adults constantly attack young adults and teens for being on our phones all of the time but they don’t see what we’re doing,” Chapman said. “I’ve made tons of friends on social media and I’m able to keep in touch with old friends as we all move out of our hometown and stop seeing each other daily.”

One of Chapman’s Arizona-based twitter followers, 16-year-old Sabrina Baca, believes that phubbing is a problem for teenagers in today’s fast-paced, online-based world.

“I think it makes it harder to communicate with people face to face because when people are on their social media all the time, I know I tend to picture someone differently than I would in person. So, talking to them face-to-face would get a little strange after imagining them one way for a while,” Baca said. “I think it is also a problem on more of a professional level because as far as business goes, face-to-face contact can connect you better to people than any email or text message can, and as people get more and more involved in social media, the skills needed for effective conversation in-person gets lost and muddy.”

Baca’s mother and Arizona-based nurse, Aleaha Jones Baca, sees teenagers and their cell phone usage as a double-sided coin.

“It’s opening them up to more people and more personalities than I could ever encounter when I was a kid, but at the same time those are not face-to-face interactions so it makes it hard to say ‘this is a terrible thing,’ but I also can’t say it’s great either,” Jones Baca said.

According to Jones Baca, there is an emotional aspect tied to teens’ cellphone usage and how they communicate with the world around them.

“I work at a hospital as a nurse and I have seen so many depressed kids come in and something that adds to their downfall is social media,” Jones Baca said. “Not only can they be bullied, but they also compare themselves to all these other people and that can be very harmful. Although, from what I see, I think teens’ cellphone usage does so much more good than harm.”

Although Jones Baca doesn’t seem to be concerned about the detachment from teens’ surroundings due to cell phone phubbing, she still believes the use of cell phones will continue to be an active aspect of teens’ lives.

“Technology will only advance in the future, and even though it is important they know how to interact with people in real life, knowing and finding support from others online is such a good thing,” Jones Baca said.

Given that in today’s society, use of cell phones has increased significantly, it is safe to say that phubbing will continue to be a potential problem.

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