It ’s the topic of the mo . Whether you think it meant something NSFW ( naughty naughty ) or whether you just find it madden , there ’s no run away it : “ phubbing ” is a definite candidate for Word of the Year ( agree to the very unofficial IFLScience rankings ) . But , in case you ’ve miss out , let ’s take one last voyage of discovery as we learn what on Earth phubbing is , and what effect it can have on us .

The concept of phubbing came careering into our lives right smart back in 2012 . The word is both a neologism and a Gladstone , put up out of a desire to put a name to the pest of using one ’s “ phone ” to “ snub ” people , and also a desire tosell lots of dictionary .

With the ubiquitousness of smartphones these days , many of us will have succumbed to phubbing without even observe . It ’s so easy to have a quick check of a notification give way to a doom - scroll through whateverElon Musk’sapp is called this workweek , even when you have a go at it you should really be take heed to what the person next to you is saying .

Unfortunately , research has shown that what might seem like a harmless , if annoying , wont can have a very real encroachment on our relationships .

amatory family relationship are at finicky risk from repeated phubbing . One recent subject field suggested that phubbing your partner could be spend a penny themless happy with your relationship – hardly surprising , if every clip you sit down for a cryptical - and - meaningful they ’re present with a view of your , no doubt delicious , phone casing alternatively of your face .

Another paper print this twelvemonth found that phubbing was a significant soothsayer ofpoor marital satisfaction , suggesting that man and wife counselors should view the shock of applied science in their practice session and highlight the motive for ever - meliorate communication skills in couple .

But it ’s not just amatory relationships that phubbing puts at risk . Research has demo that it ’s associated withlower social word , which is pretty bleak news when it comes to maintaining friendships . This is despite the fact that one of the original goals of social media and smartphone technology was to help multitude bide affiliated . The issue is that if you ’re sitting in a way of physique - and - blood humans , it pays to focus on them rather than your virtual contact .

Thankfully , there was some secure news : it ’s possible to learn social intelligence , so if you are interested about real - life friendly relationship , it ’s never too late to put your earpiece down and sour on them .

The other kinship that can be negatively involve by phubbing is that between parents and their children . parent who on a regular basis phub their kids could be pushing them intosmartphone “ addiction ” – although , it must be state that the estimate of earpiece addiction is challenge by psychologists . Either direction , feeling dismiss by a parent is unbelievable to be the path to a happy childhood .

A lot of explanation forwhy we ’re so prostrate to phubbinghave been put forrader . They admit a lack of self - control , a fear of missing out on what ’s bechance in the digital humanity , or the simple fact of postulate to take over boredom .

Smartphones are going nowhere , and nor is our always - on , electronic mail at the weekend , 24/7 news cycle guild , no matter how many individual choose to shun the dweeb . multitude will continue to phub each other , and researchers will keep digging into how this behavior is touch on us . Hopefully , you ’ve now got a good melodic theme of what phubbing is and how it could be harmful – so maybe it ’s time to put the phone down for a bit and reconnect with the real world .