Is ‘phubbing’ causing your love life to suffer? Researchers say yes

This is something that we may all be guilty of from time to time. However, we did not realise it had been given a catchy new term- our obsession with internet slang has struck again.

The times you check your phone when out in public, specifically if you’re on a date, is now known as “phubbing”. Yahoo Health are reporting the term as a mashup of the phrase ‘phone snubbing’.

It is apparently, the term used to describe the action of a person paying more attention to their phone than whoever is sitting opposite them.

Researchers have even found that when your significant other pulls other their smartphone, whether they are watching adorable dog videos of checking their email, feelings of relationship satisfaction decrease.

The study, published in the Computers in Human Behaviour journal, of 450 adults 36 per cent said that ‘phubbing’ has caused issues in their relationship.

Does any of this sound familiar?

Well, have no fear because there’s even a website to help you cope. StopPhubbing.com has some helpful steps you can follow to help you put the phone down and get back in the conversation.

They also have some useful statistics regarding ‘phubbing’, such as:

"If phubbing were a plague, it would decimate six Chinas.” Also, over the course of one dinner, a person will see 36 cases of phubbing. 

If you’re losing some faith in humanity then don’t panic entirely, the site is satire. It was created to highlight how ridiculous it is that people are even recognising ‘phubbing’ as a term.