Phubbing is an English concept that, according to what is suggested by the Fundación del Español Urgente ( Fundéu BBVA ), can be translated as ningufoneo . The notion refers to the attitude that an individual adopts when he ignores other subjects and what is happening around him to concentrate his attention on a mobile device , such as a phone or a tablet.
The word is formed from phone ( "telephone" ) and snubbing (which can be translated as "nothing" ). Those who engage in phubbing, therefore, stop paying attention to their surroundings and only look at their cell phone or mobile phone.
The root of phubbing can be found in the addiction that new technologies generate in many people. There are those who develop a psychological dependence on the telephone or the device connected to the Internet , neglecting personal ties and different essential issues of daily life.
Phubbing affects children and adults of all ages. When the phone becomes the center of existence, face-to-face conversations and physical activity, for example, are limited or eliminated.
Another aspect to consider is that phubbing involves rude or impolite behavior , even if it is socially accepted. He who looks at his phone all the time ignores others and reflects disinterest in the environment in which he finds himself.
According to various research, phubbing is a phenomenon that reveals the harmful effects of excessive use of technology , which include the deterioration of social relationships and disorders in physical and mental health.
An everyday situation in which phubbing is especially appreciated is a medical consultation at a health center. Before the arrival of mobile phones with Internet and social networking applications, it was normal for spontaneous conversations to occur between patients waiting their turn in the waiting room; Nowadays, however, children, adults and the elderly are hypnotized by their mobile phones, as if they were not really there .
Public transportation is another space in which phubbing proliferates to limits that we could not have imagined until the end of the 90s. The big problem with this phenomenon is that it has spread to such a point that there is almost no one left to ignore, because most people allow themselves to be clouded by their electronic devices.
But this does not mean that mobile phones and tablets are negative in themselves, but rather that we tend to misuse them if we become addicted to the most superficial offerings of the Internet and to video games designed specifically to waste our time and the money. If we take advantage of the good things they have to offer us, they can become invaluable tools in our development .
For example, thanks to having an electronic device capable of running countless programs and connecting to the Internet from almost any geographical location, we can work on our creative projects without interruptions even when we have commitments outside the home. Returning to one of the previous examples, it is not wrong to continue writing our novel or designing our site at the doctor's office, just as it is not negative to continue reading our favorite book; The problem is that almost no one does any of these things, but instead spends their time looking at photos that don't interest them, trying addictive games, and responding to messages from people they wish they could stop dealing with.
Phubbing can lead us to lose control of our social life, with the consequent intellectual and emotional impoverishment that this entails. If we ignore our material environment, we gradually forget the fundamentals of gestural and oral communication, and in this way we become inanimate entities that only exist behind an avatar .