Cultural differences in perceiving co-present phone use as phubbing: Evidence from six countries

Phubbing is feeling excluded and ignored by someone using a phone during a face-to-face interaction. Phubbing has mostly been investigated in Western samples. However, culture likely shapes whether co-present phone use is perceived as phubbing (phubbing perception). 588 participants from collectivis...

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Main Authors: Christiane M. Büttner, Elianne A. Albath, Rainer Greifeneder
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Taylor & Francis Group 2025-12-01
Series:Social Influence
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/15534510.2024.2447275
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author Christiane M. Büttner
Elianne A. Albath
Rainer Greifeneder
author_facet Christiane M. Büttner
Elianne A. Albath
Rainer Greifeneder
author_sort Christiane M. Büttner
collection DOAJ
description Phubbing is feeling excluded and ignored by someone using a phone during a face-to-face interaction. Phubbing has mostly been investigated in Western samples. However, culture likely shapes whether co-present phone use is perceived as phubbing (phubbing perception). 588 participants from collectivist (India, Kenya, Venezuela) and individualist countries (Austria, Belgium, UK) rated 25 vignettes (k = 14,700) describing co-present phone use concerning the perception of phubbing and attribution of others’ behavior. Descriptively, collectivist participants are more likely to feel phubbed (p = .065) and they significantly attribute others’ behavior more internally. Attribution mediates the influence of culture on phubbing perception. Our findings highlight the importance of investigating phubbing as a subjectively construed experience that is shaped by culture.
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spelling doaj-art-8dd6e48f7b754c53a9ebc4cbdcea0f8e2025-01-23T12:47:36ZengTaylor & Francis GroupSocial Influence1553-45101553-45292025-12-0120110.1080/15534510.2024.2447275Cultural differences in perceiving co-present phone use as phubbing: Evidence from six countriesChristiane M. Büttner0Elianne A. Albath1Rainer Greifeneder2Department of Social Psychology, University of Basel, Basel, SwitzerlandDepartment of Social Psychology, University of Basel, Basel, SwitzerlandDepartment of Social Psychology, University of Basel, Basel, SwitzerlandPhubbing is feeling excluded and ignored by someone using a phone during a face-to-face interaction. Phubbing has mostly been investigated in Western samples. However, culture likely shapes whether co-present phone use is perceived as phubbing (phubbing perception). 588 participants from collectivist (India, Kenya, Venezuela) and individualist countries (Austria, Belgium, UK) rated 25 vignettes (k = 14,700) describing co-present phone use concerning the perception of phubbing and attribution of others’ behavior. Descriptively, collectivist participants are more likely to feel phubbed (p = .065) and they significantly attribute others’ behavior more internally. Attribution mediates the influence of culture on phubbing perception. Our findings highlight the importance of investigating phubbing as a subjectively construed experience that is shaped by culture.https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/15534510.2024.2447275Phubbingphone useattributionindividualism-collectivismculture
spellingShingle Christiane M. Büttner
Elianne A. Albath
Rainer Greifeneder
Cultural differences in perceiving co-present phone use as phubbing: Evidence from six countries
Social Influence
Phubbing
phone use
attribution
individualism-collectivism
culture
title Cultural differences in perceiving co-present phone use as phubbing: Evidence from six countries
title_full Cultural differences in perceiving co-present phone use as phubbing: Evidence from six countries
title_fullStr Cultural differences in perceiving co-present phone use as phubbing: Evidence from six countries
title_full_unstemmed Cultural differences in perceiving co-present phone use as phubbing: Evidence from six countries
title_short Cultural differences in perceiving co-present phone use as phubbing: Evidence from six countries
title_sort cultural differences in perceiving co present phone use as phubbing evidence from six countries
topic Phubbing
phone use
attribution
individualism-collectivism
culture
url https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/15534510.2024.2447275
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