Psychological Effects

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The Psychology of Phubbing

Part of the book series: SpringerBriefs in Psychology ((BRIEFSPSYCHOL))

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Abstract

Having highlighted in previous chapters specific effects of phubbing experienced by individuals in important relationships, namely children phubbed by their parents, partners phubbed by their loved ones, and employees phubbed by their supervisors as well as those who experienced being phubbed by friends and family, this chapter takes a broader look at the effects of phubbing. The chapter reveals that phubbing led to depression or worsened existing symptoms of depression. It caused distress and withdrawal and led to aggression and cyberbullying. It triggered feelings of loneliness, boredom, and narcissism. It weakened communication skills, decreased responsiveness, and diminished feelings of acceptance. It worsened relationship satisfaction, life satisfaction, and a person’s own self-assessment of personality traits. Phubbing also negatively affected individuals’ emotional stability and increased their levels of neuroticism. It gave rise to moral disengagement and resulted in job burnout, procrastination, and poor academic performance. Phubbing also engendered smartphone addiction and social media addiction and exacerbated feelings of anxiety. This chapter, as done in previous chapters, will also discuss the moderators and mediators of phubbing behaviour.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    Friends who are encountered face-to-face or in-person only; that is, friends who are not encountered also online.

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Correspondence to Yeslam Al-Saggaf .

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Al-Saggaf, Y. (2022). Psychological Effects. In: The Psychology of Phubbing. SpringerBriefs in Psychology. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-19-7045-0_7

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