Roberts and David (2015) define phubbing as the act of snubbing someone in your company when you are using your cell phone. Phubbing is described as attending to your cellphone while in the company of either your spouse of friends without communicating with them. Robert and David (2015) argue that the increased use of technological devices is affecting the satisfaction in our relationships in that the time people spend more time on their cellphones rather than communicating getting involved in activities that are enjoyed by their partners. Phubbing makes face-to-face interactions meaningless and makes conversations between spouses less satisfying when compared to people who interact less with mobile phones.
In their hypothesis, Robert and David (2015) state that increased levels of phubbing have negative implications on the status of intimate relationships as partners feel dissatisfied and less connected to their partners. Distractions from cellphones are said to lead feelings of lower-well being and depression. The results conducted from both studies by Robert and David (2015) indicated that phubbing had negative effects on relationship satisfaction between intimate partners and partners with increased phubbing have greater conflicts with individuals who are anxiously attached than those who are securely attached.
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The study conducted by Robert and David (2015) supports their hypothesis in that based on their sample size, and they were able to determine the negative effects of phubbing in intimate partner relationships. Both securely and anxiously attached partners experience low self-esteem when their significant other spends a lot of time on his/her cellphone rather than focusing that attention on them. In intimate partner relationships, when one partner is not satisfied with their relationship, more than often they are also not satisfied with their life. Many people see themselves as failures in life because of the failures that they experience in their relationships.
Mathews (2017) implies that phubbing could be ruining relationship but based on the evidence provided by Robert and David (2015), he is unsure if he can rely on their findings. According to Mathews (2017), phubbing mainly affects "younger women who are extroverted" which is contrary to the results and findings that were given by Robert and David (2015) who state that nearly 50 percent of marriages in the United States end in divorce due to low levels of relationship satisfaction. According to Robert and David (2015), regardless of a couples age, people with anxious attachments are more affected than the ones who are not.
Mathews (2017) uses an implied causal relationship when describing the variables that were used in the study. Mathews (2017) implies phubbing decreases relationship satisfaction for people insecure relationships which is on the contrary to the findings of the study which state that "people with anxious attachment" or "people with a greater need for emotional closeness and intimacy" are the most affected. Mathews (2017) findings are not justifiable based on the findings of the study that was conducted by Robert and David (2015).
Consistent use of technological devices such as cellphones and computers can cut the time people spend with family and their loved ones. When one partner in a relationship has placed a high value on the quality time that is spent with the other, they will begin to feel less valued and rejected when their significant other spends too much time on their phone. An argument can arise from the partner because s/he feels undervalued in comparison to the cellphone device. It is not easy competing with an electronic that is addictive and portable in comparison to contending to your partners love interests. Therefore, when phubbing remains unchecked, it results in lower relationship satisfaction as well as conflicts.
References
Matthews, K. (2017). 'Phubbing' could be ruining your relationship . New York Post. Retrieved 27 February 2020, from https://nypost.com/2017/06/12/phubbing-could-be-ruining-your-relationship/ .
Roberts, J., & David, M. (2015). My life has become a major distraction from my cell phone: Partner phubbing and relationship satisfaction among romantic partners. Computers In Human Behavior , 54 , 134-141. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2015.07.058
