Somebody has come up with the word "phubbing," meaning using or being distracted by your cellphone while in the company of their relationship partners.
It comes out of a study at Baylor University's Hankamer School of Business which concluded, not too surprisingly, "...When someone perceived that their partner phubbed them, this created conflict and led to lower levels of reported relationship satisfaction. Those "in turn led to lower levels of life satisfaction and, ultimately, higher levels of depression."
The depressing behaviour:
* placing your phone where you can see it when you're with someone else
* keeping your phone in your hand when talking to someone else
* glancing at your phone while talking to someone else
* checking your phone when there is a lull in the conversation
In the study, 46% of respondents reported being phubbed by their partner.
Of course you don't do this, but do you know anybody who does? Why not forward this post to them as a gentle hint? Or maybe the cartoon that's in the next post.