Over 50Pc Of Hyderabad Youth Addicted To Phubbing Experience Psychological Distress: Study

According to a survey, more than 50% of Hyderabad's youngsters experience psychological distress as a result of phubbing which means the practice of ignoring one's companion in order to pay attention to one's phone or other mobile devices. 

The study, “Consequence of Phubbing on Psychological Distress Among the Youth of Hyderabad,” co-authored by Dr. Sudha Bala, assistant professor at ESIC Hospital, Hyderabad, claims that phubbing is extremely common among people, especially among the youth. Phubbing is also negatively affecting their lives and their relationships with their friends and family.

The phubbing comes from two words “phone” and “snubbing,” and it was coined by an Australian advertising agency in 2012 as part of a campaign and has now spread throughout the world.

Dr. Bala, Dharani Tekkam, and Harshal Pandve conducted the study in Hyderabad in the year 2018 with funding from ICMR. More than 430 students have answered the questions and the students are from the Unani College and those studying engineering, medicine, and the arts.

According to the study, 52% of the youth are engaged in phubbing. Of these, 23% experienced severe psychological distress as a result of phubbing, whereas 34% experienced moderate psychological difficulty. The amount of phubbing and psychological distress were found to be statistically significantly correlated.

Here are ways to stop phubbing:

It is not easy to stop phubbing for those who have been addicted to it. But nothing is impossible. Here are a few ways to stop phubbing.
When you are eating, no matter what, just keep a rule to put the phone away.
Just leave your phone in your bag or car and stay for a couple of minutes.
Try to keep a challenge for yourself. Ignore your phone for some time and if you are able to do it then you won the challenge.