The phubbing phenomenon: The impact on parent-child relationships

Abstract

With the rapid rise of modern mobile technology development, smartphones provide immense opportunities for increased social interaction among human beings. However, smartphone capabilities can also incur an addictive preoccupation with unlimited access to the internet, social media, and other online activities. As a result, the increased amount of time and attention spent on smartphones can monopolize our focus away from the people around us. This inappropriate "phubbing" behavior has become an apparent worldwide phenomenon of concern. Phubbing is the act of snubbing an individual in a social setting due to the overriding focus on one's phone instead of paying attention to the other person (Chotpitayasunondh & Douglas, 2018). Of particular concern is the increasing distracted parenting noted due to the excessive time parents and caretakers spend on their smartphones resulting in less human interaction with their children. Research shows that troubling addictive smartphone activities of parents and caretakers negate the nurturing of their children and directly influencing their well-being in their formative years. The purpose of this article is to discuss the potential adverse behavioral and developmental problems in youth-related to parental phubbing behaviors. This article also aims to inform the importance of parental self-monitoring and control of their smartphone use and identify pediatric nurses' approaches to guide parents and families to prevent adverse outcomes for this emerging public health problem.