Gone are the days when the world was a much simpler place. These days, everything is far more complex and difficult to deal with. And that’s all a part of the human civilization’s growth and evolution throughout the decades. The more equipped we are to take on difficult tasks, the more complicated we make the world out to be for ourselves. It’s happening in all facets of life. Nothing is as simple as it would seem anymore. And that can be a good or a bad thing in many respects. It’s really all about how we manage and deal with these complications as we go through our everyday lives.
In the old days, dating and connecting with someone wasn’t necessarily so complicated. Sure, these days, technology has enabled us to transcend limitations brought about by time and distance. However, it has also made everything so much more complicated. The idea of staying connected all of the time can often lead us to being lost in the virtual world; and not being present in the real-life moment that we’re experiencing. In the past, when two people go out on an intimate date, they spend that whole date focusing on one another and the relationship that they’re in. And it’s true that a lot of couples are still able to do that a lot these days.
And that’s a good thing. However, there is an alarming number of couples who spend more time looking at their phones than at each other when they’re out on dates. It’s so easy to get lost in virtual space. There are an endless amount of messages and updates that are streaming in on a consistent basis. There is so much media and information available for consumption with just a few taps of the finger. It can be very easy for a dinner date to be interrupted by a phone call, a text message, or a quick glance through the news feed.
And of course, scientific research has proven that this kind of behavior during dates can put some serious strain on a relationship between two people who are in love with one another. In fact, it has been proven to be the number one killer of relationships. There is actually a name that has been attributed to this phenomenon and it’s called “phubbing”. It’s a play on the words “phone” and “snubbing.” You are essentially favoring your phone screen over your partner; and that’s never a good thing to do on a consistent basis. And even though it already looks like a bad habit at face value, it carries with it much heavier and greater implications.
According to recent surveys, it has been proven that people are generally annoyed when the people that they’re with are more focused on their phones than on the actual conversation taking place. Whenever couples engaged in constant “phubbing” with one another, it created a very hostile and toxic relationship environment. The act of “phubbing” in itself directly led to full-blown arguments, confrontations, and fights. And indirectly, it also leads to the distancing of two people in a relationship. Couples who are known to engage in phubbing are also proven to have lower relationship satisfaction ratings.
They are less satisfied with how the relationship is going; and how their partner is treating them. And it goes even deeper than that. The act of “phubbing” not only affects the quality of a relationship; it can also affect the quality of one’s life in itself. A person who is generally more attracted to technological devices and social media is one who is more prone to depression and toxic lifestyle choices. A lot of what makes up a healthy human experience is personal interaction. However, when one obsesses over happenings on the world wide web that don’t directly affect them, it takes away the component of human interaction.
Yes, you might be connected to the world, but the world isn’t necessarily responding to you. Another effect that “phubbing” can have on people and relationships is that it can trigger a person’s insecurities. Studies have shown that people generally feel more insecure about themselves when their partners spend more time on their phones than on their conversations. It makes them believe that they are uninteresting and boring. To go along with a diminished sense of self-esteem, “phubbing” can really drive two people farther and farther away from one another.
The point here is that even though technology has done so much for us when it comes to bridging the gaps in communication, it can also cause a lot of harm if we don’t use it properly. Like with anything in life, we must always know how to live in moderation. We can’t let our technology consume us to the point that it compromises the quality of our real-life relationships.
