Phubbing Behaviour a proclivity among young adults

Abstract

Background: Besides making life easy, the smartphone has bought many psychological issues to their verge. Especially, the face-to-face communication of humans is facing challenges. A common behaviour encountered during social conversations is the use of smartphones simultaneously while conversing, which psychologists termed as Phubbing. Aim: To explore Phubbing Behaviour in relation to its determinants, namely, Mobile phone usage and Internet Addiction, Gaming Addiction and Fear of Missing Out among young adults. Materials and Method: The sample comprises 184 young adults in the age range of 18 to 30 years, of which 83 are males and 101 are females, belonging to the middle socioeconomic strata of India. The participants completed the e-questionnaires comprising of Mobile Phone Usage and Internet Addiction Scale, Game Addiction Scale, Fear of Missing Out Scale and Phubbing Scale. Firstly, evaluation of mean and standard deviation, have been done; secondly, independent samples t-test has been employed to reveal the significant difference of mean scores between the male group and the female group involved in the study. Furthermore, a correlation has been incorporated to establish the relationship between Phubbing behaviour and all the other factors. Results: The findings suggest that there exists a positive significant correlation between phubbing behaviour and its determinants. The study further indicates that there prevails a significant difference in mean scores on gaming addiction between the male group and the female group. Conclusions: The research variables overlap and have circular relationships.