Phubbing as a Socio-psychological Phenomenon of the Modern Society

A sharp increase in the degree of isolation of individuals in relation to society has been a landmark phenomenon of the last few decades of the human civilization development. This phenomenon is rather objective by its nature. The development of the economy and information technology contributes to the growth of opportunities for personal development and, as a result, leads to an increase in the degree of independence from the immediate social environment. It can not be overlooked, that along with the obvious advantages, these trends also imply objective threats. At present, it is hard to imagine and assess what global consequences for civilization will be entailed by the degeneration of human capital into a loosely connected assembly of egoistic subjects accustomed to exist in an “isolated cocoon”. One of the visible signals of a potential danger is a lifestyle that involves a permanent dependence on electronic mobile devices and external information resources. “Phubbing” has become a striking defining attribute of new generations behavior. It is a hollowing-out of real communication, its displacement by manipulations with portable mobile devices. These circumstances significantly increase the relevance and importance of research concerning this issue, preparation of qualitative and quantitative models that can adequately describe these processes and indicate possible threats in a timely manner.

phubbing, smartphone addiction, phone snubbing, psychopathy, narcissism, emotional characteristics, regression analysis