Parameters of Phubbing

Several studies have now concluded that phubbing (i.e., using a phone to snub conversational partners) has a negative influence on conversations, individuals, and their relationships. Yet, phone usage during face-to-face conversations may vary in degree, purpose, and frequency and research has yet to identify the point at which phone usage causes conversational partners to feel phubbed. Using Attribution Theory as a framework, the present study begins to explore the parameters of phubbing to understand when phone usage does and does not count as phubbing. Findings demonstrated that individual biases and attributions influence perceptions and effects of phone usage during face-to-face conversations. Specifically, individuals with more negative biases towards phone usage were more likely to activate an attributional framework that caused them to believe that their partner’s phone usage constituted phubbing. Findings also suggested that nonverbal immediacy may mediate the effects of phone usage during face-to-face conversations such that phone usage that hinders nonverbal immediacy is more likely to be perceived as phubbing.