Phubbing Has Taken The World By Storm

May 18, 2018

In the year 2012, The University of Sydney along with a panel of experts gathered to come up with a word to best describe the phenomenon of people being glued to their phones, and ignoring anyone around them.

The group of experts panel had a lexicologist, a phonetician, a debating champion, a poet, authors, and cruciverbalist- a professional crossword puzzle maker.

‘Phubbing’ is defined as, “The act of snubbing someone in a social setting by looking at your phone instead of paying attention.”

Addiction to the smart phone is a global concern with repercussions that range from accidents to psychological disorders. The ability to balance time and attention and ensure more human interaction is an imminent need, say experts.

These Puneites share their own experiences with phubbing with Pune365:

Most people deal with more people in the virtual world than the real. There is so much to explore with a smartphone, says Anuja Sharma, sales professional

Phubbing is very disrespectful to the person who is sitting next to you. Eventually, you end up lonely having missed all those moments in your life. All of us need people in real life, yet, the fact that cellphones have become so much part of life cannot be denied, quips Sharma.

“People despite being physically present stay glued to their phones. This is really annoying when you’re trying to talk to them and they’re constantly looking down at their phone,” says Rahil Awasthi, sales head.

The Digital Indian across every age group is addicted to their phone and I am too, I don’t know what is going in my neighbourhood, but I know which of my batchmate is married and what my country or city is up to. Although it’s good in some ways, it is true that we’re losing out on people in our life.

“I use my phone often but not when am out with my friends and family and hence not a typical chubbier! So the phone is as good as a painkiller. Needed, but in moderation” Rahil adds.

It has become a game now. With a single click you can do almost anything, says Akshay Patane, student.

We don’t care about people, we care more about looking at a screen and living in a virtual world. The problem is not only with our generation and everyone now, is glued to their phones.

Phubbing? Yes, of course, Pune has several phubbers and I am one too, says Patane.

The world has so much to explore, yet people prefer to do it all using a small device, says Harsh Haldankar, finance advisor.

Phubbing is a lot to do with a personal choice, People often report to it when they want to ignore someone. If the relationship isn’t important, we’re glued to our phones to fill this gap. Today’s generation attributes little significance to their human relationship and are more interested in their cellphones.

We have to remember that the phone was invented only a few decades ago and life went on pretty smoothly even without them. I tend to use my phone only for calls and work related queries, Harsh quips.

Phones these days have become an addiction says sexagenarian, Sunil Prakash

We have different things to read on the internet, different groups on WhatsApp and now my life has been revolving around my phone since the time my son gifted me one.

Everything I do is online from watching videos to doing bhajans, we also have bhajan groups, This smartphone has so much and life has become much easier. Am not aware of this new term but If phubbing is something people do instead of having a conversation when they meet, am lucky am not one of them! Yet, I must add that my smartphone has become my best buddy now, Prakash adds with a laugh.