IS PHUBBING RUINING YOUR RELATIONSHIP?

"Phubbing" – the act of ignoring or snubbing your partner because you are distracted by your phone – is not only a real thing … but it’s damaging to relationships, and even making people depressed.

According to a new Baylor University study:

46% of respondents have felt phubbed by their partner.

23% said it caused conflict in their relationships.

37% reported feeling depressed at least some of the time.

Only 32% of respondents said they were very happy with their relationship.

Researchers even developed a "Partner Phubbing Scale," featuring nine common phone behaviors that reflect different degrees of phubbing. Here are some of them:

My partner puts his/her phone where they can see it when we are together.

My partner keeps his or her phone in their hand when he or she is with me.

My partner looks at his/her cellphone when talking to me.

If there is a lull in our conversation, my partner will check his/her cellphone.

"In everyday interactions with significant others, people often assume that momentary distractions by their cell phones are not a big deal," said co-author Meredith David, Ph.D. "However, our findings suggest that the more often a couple’s time spent together is interrupted by one individual attending to his/her cellphone, the less likely it is that the other individual is satisfied in the overall relationship." (MSN)

photo via hercampus