'Phubbing' around!

We have all been in a situation where our friends are trying to tell us something that happened during the day or important news. How many have we found ourselves looking into our phones during this conversation? If the word you’re looking for is many, then you have been phubbing. It is a relatively new word and it means to snub the person in front of you by looking into the phone. It can be for anything. Phubbing is harmless but it does do more harm that you’re aware of. Reports indicate that phubbing hurts the relationship you share with person in front of you.

Phubbing is not disrespectful to the people in front of you but you also miss out on being in the moment. Sandalwood actress Neethu Shetty says, “Phubbing can be very annoying because virtual reality has become more important to us than the person in front of us. The habit is very annoying, but I do understand that when professionals meet and want to catch up but there are lot of calls and work related messages. So it becomes difficult to balance, especially if you’re living in Bengaluru. In the end it all depends on how close and understanding the people are. It is very disrespectful to the person sitting in front of you and you end up missing out on ‘being in the moment’. When I am with my friends who are mostly from the industry, I can understand the work they have. But otherwise I don’t think it is a nice thing to do. I have also done it a couple of times  but I have become very aware of what I doing. I am trying to break the habit.”

Sociologist Sandeep Aikyam opines that if people want to snub someone, they will find ways to do it. “It has lot to do with personal choices. If there was no phubbing, one will find another way to disrespect the person in front of them. In this scenario, the person is at fault and not the tool.  It’s got to do with priority. If the relationship you share with the person in front of you is important then, phubbing them is out of the question. If the relationship is not important, people tend to use their phones to fill the gap. If the current generation is more interested in the phones, then relationships have lost their significance.  In today’s society people are less connected to each other and they are looking for the virtual world to escape into. I think that we are with in conversation with someone who is not very important then the best approach would be is to end that conversation,” he says.