"Phubbing" is a new word created out of "phone" and "snubbing". To "phub" someone is to ignore them, being totally engrossed in a smartphone or other screen. In an interview for the Polish Press Agency (PAP), Magdalena Bigaj, the Head of the Institute for Digital Citizenship explains this phenomenon and others investigated by the Institute's recent research into "digital hygiene".
"Today we pass people on the street who are lost to their screens or compulsively check their phones; we encounter the same phenomenon in public meetings, private meetings - and even among drivers."
The research found that over 64% of people admit their screen time is "a lot", with half of that group saying it is "too much". Bigaj suggests that the increase in the social effects of technology may also be due to COVID: with more people working remotely today, the difference between private life and working life is blurred.
Another factor is the ubiquity of smartphones. Previously, only certain professions required long hours of screen time - in front of a computer. Today many more professions use phones - which means screens and social media.
Another researcher investigating modern "technology" - which is supposed to connect us but actually is breaking social bonds - is Jonathan Haidt from the USA. His Atlantic article is a summary of his scientific research for a wider audience.
One area of Haidt's research and the focus of the article is an attempt to explain rising mental health issues in girls and young women in the USA. His analysis suggests that Instagram in particular is putting unhealthy pressure on girls to identify their value with their appearance, compare themselves frequently, judge each other etc.
In February, the satirical news program The Daily Show featured a report analysing how social media algorithms support and increase anger as an effective means of keeping users on a social media site. The report mentioned an internal Facebook report admitting that social media algorithms can effectively "radicalise users" in the space of a few days.
In the Facebook research it was enough for a user to "like" posts related to Donald Trump and two other related figures for the algorithms to suggest more and more extreme sites. The report linked the anger driving social media to the culture war increasingly polarising the USA:
Sources: PAP, The Atlantic, The Daily Show
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