A recent study has found that individuals prone to phubbing others tend to have worse body image and self-efficacy. The research also found that single individuals are more likely to phub others compared to those who are married. The paper was published in Psychological Reports.
The widespread use of mobile phones has allowed people to become more connected than ever. While, in previous centuries, people could only communicate with those in their immediate surroundings, modern mobile devices allow individuals to be in constant communication with others regardless of where they are (with some exceptions!). This has also presented every individual with a choice about who they will devote their attention to – those in their immediate surroundings, or to people not physically present, through the use of mobile devices (or generally to contents available on mobile devices).
In these situations, some people at least some of the time, decide to devote their attention to their mobile devices instead of individuals in their company. This behavior has come to be known as phubbing. Phubbing is a term that combines “phone” and “snubbing.” It refers to the act of ignoring someone in a social setting by paying attention to one’s phone instead of the person one is with. This behavior is often seen as rude and can negatively impact personal relationships. Because of its rising prevalence, it has become the focusing of many new research studies.
Study authors Selma Kılıç and Eyüp Çelik of Sakarya University in Turkey wanted to investigate the links between phubbing (the tendency to phub others), body image, and self-efficacy. They argue that the modern virtual environment has become a platform where people display a perfect body and appearance, idealizing themselves visually.
As this “ideal body” beauty standard is not obtainable in real life, people who accept it may become dissatisfied with their own bodies. If people prone to phubbing are people generally more immersed into the virtual world, they would also be more likely to accept to the “ideal body” beauty standard and thus be more dissatisfied with their bodies i.e., have a more negative body image.
In a similar fashion, people spending more time on social media might be left with less time to perform other important activities in life. This may lead to lower feelings of self-efficacy, meaning a person’s belief in their ability to succeed in specific situations or accomplish a task.
The study involved 301 adults from Turkey, with 76% being male and 37% married. Participants completed the General Phubbing Scale, the General Self-efficacy Scale, and the Body Image Scale.
Results showed that participants more prone to phubbing others tended to have lower self-efficacy and worse body image. However, the correlation was weak. Males and females had similar average scores on the assessment of phubbing. However, single individuals were, on average, somewhat more prone to phubbing others than married persons.
“Phubbing exposure in social life may become more widespread in the future. This situation can negatively affect interpersonal relationships, an essential variable for human mental health, and can cause other psychosocial (addiction, loneliness, social isolation, etc.) problems. Thus, identifying factors related to phubbing can contribute to individual and societal health,” the study authors concluded.
The study makes a valuable contribution to understanding the relationship between phubbing and other psychological characteristics. However, it should be noted that the study was solely based on self-reports. Studies using other methods of collecting data might not yield equal results.
The paper, “Being Virtual in Real Interpersonal Interaction: What Makes People Prone to Phubbing?”, was authored by Selma Kılıç and Eyüp Çelik.
