Is Pphubbing Affecting Your Relationship?
You wake in the morning, what’s the first thing you and your partner do?
Cuddle up to each other or reach for your smart phones to check texts, Twitter or respond to emails?
When you’re having dinner together how often are you sneaking a few sly glances at incoming alerts?
And what’s last thing you do before going to bed?
Joke and chat with each other or check emails, watch memes and scroll through social media?
Technology is rapidly shaping how we interact and communicate. Not a minute goes by that we are not without our smartphones. While it’s a great to be so connected and have the information we need at our fingertips it’s also important to consider its impact on how we relate to each other.
A recent study interviewed over 400 people to explore the impact of ‘pphubbing’ or partner phone snubbing and its effects on personal relationships. Pphubbing is a term used to describe the habit of being distracted by our smartphone while in the presence or our partner.
The findings revealed that partners who felt pphubbed reported more conflict and lower levels of satisfaction in their relationship, which also led to feeling less satisfied with life in general and higher levels of depression,
The findings from the study revealed that:
• 46.3 percent of the respondents reported being phubbed by their partner
• 22.6 percent said this phubbing caused conflict in their relationships
• 36.6 percent reported feeling depressed at least some of the time
So what you can do if pphubbing is affecting your relationship?
1. Remove the distraction
One of the biggest problems with smartphone use is that we can always be distracted in the presence of our partner. What the study revealed was that while we think those momentary distractions don’t mean much to our partner they are in fact a big problem.
You need to talk this issue through and decide what works for you and your partner. While it may be a great way of keeping in touch and staying closer throughout the day, when you’re together it may be worth putting your smartphones aside and allotting times over dinner or a date night to be just with each other.
2. Rebuild physical intimacy
Sexting might be a novel way to engage with your partner but remember as human beings we are deeply relational and perceptive. We take in the world through what we smell, taste, touch hear and see. This affects what we feel inside our bodies and how we engage with the world around us. Take the time to foster connectedness by relating to each other face to face. We create closeness through body language, facial expressions and tone of voice.
3. Avoid Depression
The study not only revealed that partners being pphubbed experienced higher levels of depression, but one of the unintended consequences of too much social media is that it can also affect our own mood and sense of wellbeing. It can make us feel like we don’t measure up.
It’s important to value our real time relationships over our virtual relationships. Building a positive, secure relationship not only improves our self worth and resilience it helps to reduce depression and anxiety.
To read the study in detail check it out at http://www.baylor.edu/mediacommunications/news.php?action=story&story=161554
Douglas Channing
Menstuff
FollowCategory : Blog & Depression & Procrastination & Relationships & Self Esteem & Stress Reduction