Partner phubbing: Why using your phone during interactions with your partner can be detrimental for your relationship

Abstract

Previous research showed that phone use during co-present interactions with one's partner (partner phubbing) is negatively related to relationship satisfaction. In two cross-sectional surveys (N = 507 and N = 386) we confirmed this finding and also extended it by focusing on the mediating role of feelings of exclusion, perceived partner responsiveness, perceived intimacy, conflict about phone use, and feelings of jealousy. Results of both studies demonstrate that the link between partner phubbing and relationship satisfaction was mediated by feelings of exclusion, less perceived partner responsiveness, and less intimacy. We observed no significant mediation effects of conflict over phone use and jealousy when the three significant mediators were taken into account. In contrast to previous work, this suggests that conflict and jealousy are not the primary mechanism through which pphubbing results in reduced relationship satisfaction. Moreover, we demonstrated that shared phone use moderates the adverse effects of pphubbing. This means that by involving and informing a partner about one's phone activities, it is possible to reduce feelings of exclusion, maintain more responsiveness and intimacy in the conversation, and consequently reduce detrimental relationship effects.