Who are fabbers: scientists have revealed the features of pathological dependence on the phone

Is your boss constantly distracted by your smartphone while talking to you? A friend, during communication, now and then flips through public pages in social networks and chats with someone? Both can be diagnosed with “fubbing” – one of the manifestations of addiction to gadgets and the Web, the habit of being distracted by the phone during a conversation. Candidate of Pedagogical Sciences, Associate Professor Tatyana Baranova told MK about the research conducted at the Peter the Great Polytechnic University.

Scientists, noticing how students during lectures and seminars, instead of listening to the material, all the time switch their attention to phones, decided to conduct a study.

“We decided to find out how students themselves relate to such a phenomenon as phubbing, and also to interview the other side — teachers,” says Tatyana Baranova, director of the Higher School of Engineering Pedagogy, Psychology and Applied Linguistics of the SPbPU Institute for the Humanities.

107 3rd year undergraduate students agreed to answer questions online. More than 70% of the respondents agreed that they often turn to the gadget in class and have a certain dependence on a cell phone. Students also admitted that the desire to immerse themselves in the phone most often occurs when they are in a state of anxiety and stress. For them, a cell phone is a kind of psychological protection,

We interviewed teachers in person. Many agreed that such a problem really exists, but the term “fubbing” is not familiar to them. Junior lecturers expressed confidence that a cell phone is a kind of cognitive tool, but it is still necessary to include certain controls in order to minimize this dependence on the gadget.

In two cross-reference surveys, it was found that the more students are exposed to phubbing, the worse their academic performance. (The results of intermediate certification in various disciplines were used as indicators).

— According to our estimates, women are more prone to phubbing. They are more often addicted to social networks and “sit” on various forums, while men prefer games on mobile devices. What is psychologically explainable: women are more emotional.

Associate Professor Tatyana Baranova emphasizes that their study is not yet completed, the scientists used a small sample so far, this is just the beginning. Therefore, it is too early to draw any categorical conclusions. But what is certain is that phubbing violates interpersonal interactions, ethical norms.

– In fact, you ignore your interlocutor, neglect him. This can result in a crisis in friendships, family and work relationships.

— How to deal with phubbing?

– Self-control is important. We control ourselves when we interact with someone. And here there should be a certain set of behavior, you need to control your actions during communication.

– Is phubbing the same addiction as smoking, alcoholism, gambling?

Yes, it’s a kind of addiction. It’s one thing when this happens consciously, a person understands that he still needs to put the phone aside and talk with the interlocutor. And another thing is when immersion in the phone becomes one of the forms of psychological protection in a state of stress. One of the ways to abstract from the real world. And then the person drives himself into a state of distress. Because, unfortunately, you can’t go further than a smartphone. No problem resolution.

According to scientists, in order to maintain mental health, it is necessary to turn on the “search activity” mode.

No matter how difficult the situation is, you still need to try to resolve it. And when we look at the phone, we turn on psychological protection, and nothing more. We do not solve the problem.

Scientists urge to try not to use gadgets in person. To perceive it as one of the rules of etiquette, for example, is the same as not picking your teeth with a fork. Do not put your cell phone on the table during dinner with friends. Put it in your pocket and return to the real world.