A study conducted in Romania has revealed that individuals exposed to phubbing—ignoring someone in favor of a mobile phone—tend to experience greater loneliness and psychological distress. This research suggests that loneliness may partially mediate the relationship between perceived phubbing, life satisfaction, and psychological distress. The study was published in BMC Psychology.
Use of mobile devices has explosively grown in the past few decades. In 2021, estimates indicated that there were 5.3 billion smartphone users worldwide. The widespread availability of mobile devices has fundamentally transformed how people communicate and interact. While communication has become much easier, yielding numerous benefits, this technological shift has also introduced new challenges in social interactions, one of which is phubbing.
Phubbing, short for “phone snubbing,” is a phenomenon where individuals prioritize their smartphones over face-to-face interactions with others. Those who engage in phubbing neglect the company of others to focus on their mobile devices. Consequently, the person subjected to phubbing, referred to as the “phubbee,” may feel ignored or unimportant. Phubbing can lead to feelings of isolation, frustration, reduced social connection, and diminished life satisfaction for those affected.
Study authors Alexandra Maftei and Cornelia Măirean wanted to examine the links between phubbing experiences, loneliness, life satisfaction, and psychological distress of adult phubbees. They hypothesized that higher perceived levels of phubbing (being exposed to phubbing) would be associated with higher psychological distress and lower life satisfaction. They also believed that phubbing might make people feel lonely. Loneliness might, in turn, lead to higher psychological distress and lower life satisfaction.
The study involved 720 Romanian adults, ranging in age from 18 to 77 years, with an average age of 24 years. Of these participants, 74% were female. Regarding relationship status, 44% were in a romantic relationship, 36% were single, and 18% were married.
Participants completed assessments of psychological distress (the Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scale), life satisfaction (the Satisfaction with Life Scale), perceived phubbing (the Generic Scale of Being Phubbed), loneliness (the revised UCLA Loneliness Scale), and time spent on social media (a single item).
The results confirmed that higher perceived exposure to phubbing was associated with increased levels of psychological distress and loneliness. No direct correlation was found between phubbing and life satisfaction. Individuals who felt lonelier were also more likely to report lower life satisfaction and greater psychological distress.
The researchers developed and tested a statistical model to propose that loneliness mediates the relationship between perceived phubbing and life satisfaction, as well as between perceived phubbing and psychological distress. The model testing revealed a slight positive direct effect of phubbing on life satisfaction and a negative indirect effect through loneliness—suggesting that while phubbing can slightly increase life satisfaction, it more significantly increases loneliness, which in turn decreases life satisfaction.
Testing of the model that included psychological distress indicated that phubbing might be affecting psychological distress both directly and indirectly, through increasing loneliness.
“The study highlights the significant role of perceived phubbing when discussing psychological distress and life satisfaction, underlining the need to address further the (mis)use of digital devices (e.g., smartphones) within interpersonal relationships, as well as the need to understand better the outcomes of such behaviors to shape effective interventions in this regard,” the study authors concluded.
The study makes a valuable contribution to understanding the phenomenon of phubbing. However, it also has limitations that need to be taken into account. Notably, the study design does not allow any cause-and-effect conclusions to be drawn from the study. For example, it is possible that phubbing incites loneliness, but it is also possible that lonely people are more likely to be phubbed or that they pay more attention to phubbing behaviors, thus reporting greater perceived phubbing. Additionally, study participants were mostly young people. Results might not be the same on samples with a larger share of older individuals.
The paper, “Put your phone down! Perceived phubbing, life satisfaction, and psychological distress: the mediating role of loneliness”, was authored by Alexandra Maftei and Cornelia Măirean.
