For about five years now, we have all suffered at least once “phubbing” during a work meeting or a family meal. This massive practice lacked a name until recently but its consequences were appreciable by any diner. It began around 2007 with the birth of the smartphone or smart phone, which synthesized the power of a desktop computer in a few inches. With the possibility of staying connected to the Internet at any time and in any place, this obsessive practice became widespread that many perpetuate without even knowing it.
“Phubbing” (a term formed from the English words phone and snubbing ) consists of the act of belittling those who accompany us by paying more attention to the mobile phone or other electronic devices than to their person. It has been recently baptized in the US and there are many virtual platforms that actively combat this impolite habit. Their arguments allude to the most basic protocol when sitting at the table, which reproaches starting to eat before everyone has been served or taking food from the plate of other diners, and therefore rejects the act of ignoring who we have at side.
The promoters of these “antiphubbing” initiatives claim that almost 90 percent of adolescents prefer contact via text rather than face-to-face and that restaurants experience 36 cases of “phubbing” in each dinner session , and warn that this phenomenon It may end up reducing social relationships to the exchange of virtual messages.
