Phubbing phenomenon: contemporary discourse in the digital world and social responsibility of marketing

Abstract

The modern digital world, along with many opportunities, raises a significant number of challenges. One of them is the emergence of the phubbing phenomenon as a manifestation of users’ dependence on smartphones and constant distractions on social networks. In this regard, the problem of forming ethical behavior while social interaction in both the digital world and live communication arises. The article has investigated the peculiarities of the phubbing phenomenon and its influence on social interactions in terms of strengthening the social responsibility of marketing activities on the part of smartphone industry companies. The emergence of the phubbing phenomenon and the term for its designation has been examined. It has been demonstrated that the problems of ethical behavior during live communication have become more relevant due to the growth of the number of mobile phone users. Definitions of phubbing, generated by modern means of Artificial Intelligence, i.e. Midjourney Neural Network and ChatGPT, as well as connections between the phubbing phenomenon and marketing have been given. The main types of phubbing and the terminological apparatus of phubbing, which are highlighted in scientific papers for the time being, have been summarized. The use of Google Digital Tools, i.e. Google Trends, has enabled analyzing the popularity of the term ,,phubbing” in the world and in Ukraine. A survey of students of Zhytomyr Polytechnic State University (Ukraine) was conducted in order to determine the attitude of Generation Z towards the behavior related to phubbing. Examples of drawing attention to the problem of phubbing have been given. It has been demonstrated that the active position of smartphone industry companies regarding the formation of ethical behavior in a hybrid environment is relevant for a number of reasons. Development and implementation of company policy regarding social responsibility can be done through marketing activity of smartphone industry companies.