It’s a familiar experience in our modern age. You’re spending time with someone, perhaps enjoying a meal or drink together, when they pull out their phone to start scrolling or texting. Maybe even both of you start doing this.
There’s a term that describes this phenomenon: “phubbing.”
“Phubbing is a mash-up of ‘phone’ and ‘snubbing,’ and it’s when you’re ignoring the person who’s right in front of you in favor of whatever’s happening on your phone,” Nick Leighton, an etiquette expert and host of the “Were You Raised by Wolves?” podcast, told HuffPost. “Who doesn’t love a good portmanteau?”
The term phubbing first appeared in 2012 as part of a campaign from the Australian advertising agency McCann Melbourne to promote the Macquarie Dictionary. But, of course, the concept goes back even further.
“People have been using their mobile devices as electronic security blankets since the devices appeared,” said Jodi R.R. Smith, the president of Mannersmith Etiquette Consulting.
