Phubbing: A literature review of the technological invasion that has changed lives for the last decade

Abstract

Technology and its chief by-product, ‘the smartphone’, have presented human lives with ease and comfort. The smartphone, a revolutionary invention, has changed the playing field of the communications industry, taking the idea of virtual one-to-one communications to the next level. However, like all boons, this one too has its share of shortcomings and challenges that significantly affects the face of communication that it was supposed to enhance. One such challenge has provoked immense research on it; this challenge is the phenomenon of ‘Phubbing’. This decade-old term has evolved with the sporadic growth of the smartphone and its multifaceted use. This term was born as an ode to the peculiar 21st-century phenomenon of ignoring the person/people in front of you to pay attention to your smartphone. Phubbing involves three components: the phubber (the doer), the phubbee (the victim), and the social context in which phubbing takes place. This context can be a professional setting, within romantic relationships, or a public setting. The consequences of phubbing vary from strained relationships, broken trust, feelings of jealousy, anxiety, and depression among victims. Considering the novelty of the phenomenon and its consequences on human communication and relationship building, it becomes pertinent that further research is done in this area. A decade’s worth of research has done little in exploring the facets of the phubbing phenomenon. The prime purpose of this paper is to understand and analyze the last decade of literature regarding Phubbing and see how the term and the understanding of it have evolved over time. Literature findings suggest two broad understandings of Phubbing, one as a form of addiction and the other as a social phenomenon. The paper explores these two broad understandings of phubbing behaviors and also expands on the challenges faced in categorizing this new phenomenon. Additionally, the paper also focuses on different forms of phubbing such as boss phubbing, partner phubbing, classroom phubbing, etc. The paper also tries to explore phubbing between different genders and whether gender makes a difference in such scenarios.

Keywords

• Phubbing
• Technology
• Smart Phones
• Communication
• Addiction

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