Science Says Your Cell Phone Use Could Be Hurting Your Relationship

You probably Pphubb all the time, even if you don’t know what that means. And a new study says it could be damaging your relationship.

Pphubbing refers to “partner phone snubbing,” or when you get distracted by your cell phone when you’re with your significant other. A new study from Baylor University found that Pphubbing hurts relationship satisfaction, thus also negatively impacting overall happiness.

“What we discovered was that when someone perceived that their partner phubbed them, this created conflict and led to lower levels of reported relationship satisfaction,” James Roberts, a professor of marketing and co-author of the paper, said in a statement. “These lower levels of relationship satisfaction, in turn, led to lower levels of life satisfaction and, ultimately, higher levels of depression.”

To find results, the researchers developed a Pphubbing scale, that included statements such as “my partner places his or her cellphone where they can see it when we are together” and “my partner glances at his/her cellphone when talking to me.” Overall, 46.3 percent of the respondents reported being Pphubbed by their partner.

“When you think about the results, they are astounding,” Roberts said. “Something as common as cellphone use can undermine the bedrock of our happiness – our relationships with our romantic partners.”

The study was based on two separate surveys, which in total represented 453 adults in the U.S.

PHOTOS: The Rise of Mobile Phones from 1916 to Today

1916 A German field telephone station in the Aisne department of northern France during World War I.

Paul Thompson—FPG/Getty Images

1970 French singer and actor Johnny Hallyday in a scene from the film 'Point de Chute' (aka 'Falling Point').

Keystone/Holton/Getty Images

1980 An early mobile phone during the Iranian Embassy siege at Princes Gate in South Kensington, London.

Kypros/Getty Images

1983 Bob Maxwell, general manager of Englewood-based Mobile Telephone of Colorado, places a call on an FCC-approved radio frequency while driving to work.

Lyn Alweis—Denver Post/Getty Images

1986 THE A-TEAM "The Say U.N.C.L.E. Affair" Episode 5. (l-r) Eddie Velez as Frankie Santana, Robert Vaughn as General Hunt Stockwell, George Peppard as John 'Hannibal' Smith.

Bill Dow—NBC/Getty Images

1992 Democratic presidential nominee Bill Clinton talks on a cell phone while meeting with Boston Mayor Ray Flynn in a New York hotel on Sept. 25.

Mark Lennihan—AP

1993 Whoopi Goldberg during ShoWest in Las Vegas.

Jeff Kravitz—FilmMagic/Getty Images

1997 A farmer with his family sitting on a Bullock Cart and talking on a mobile Phone, in Delhi.

India Today Group/Getty Images

2001 A woman watches smoke pour out of the World Trade Center Towers in New York on September 11.

Nicholas Goldberg—Gamma-Rapho/Getty Images

2011 A rebel militiaman speaks on his mobile phone after capturing territory from government troops on March 25 in Ben Jawat, Libya.

John Moore—Getty Images

2011 A youth films the aftermath of tear gas police fired at protestors in Muhammed Mahmoud Street near Tahrir Square on November 23 in Cairo.

Peter Macdiarmid—Getty Images

2012 Audience members take pictures of President Barack Obama at Florida Atlantic University on April 10 in Boca Raton, Florida.

Marc Serota—Getty Images

2014 A teenager takes a selfie in front of Queen Elizabeth II during a walk around St. Georges Market in Belfast. The Queen has apparently voiced her dismay that when she carries out engagements she is greeted by a sea of mobile phones.

Peter Macdiarmid—PA Wire/Press Association Images/AP

1 of 13

Advertisement

Write to Tessa Berenson at tessa.berenson@time.com.