We Need to Talk About Phubbing
The insidious social behavior destroying our relationships
Garrison Keillor, host of A Prairie Home Companion, is well-known for his characterization of the mythical Minnesota town of Lake Wobegon where all the children are above average.
Along a similar but opposite vein, the majority of American smartphone owners believe their phone usage is below average, a statistical impossibility.
Crunching the Numbers
According to research published by global tech company Asurion in 2019, Americans check their phones an average of 96 times a day, or once every 10 minutes. Individuals from 18–24 years old check their phones twice as much as the national average.
Other survey findings reported that nearly 9 out of 10 Americans feel offended when someone they’re speaking with starts checking their phone. But three-quarters of people admit to engaging in this behavior themselves.
Put Down Your Phone, Live Longer
Can phone usage impact longevity? By raising levels of the stress-related hormone cortisol, excessive phone usage may also threaten our long-term health.
A couple years ago, a piece in the New York Times described how constantly checking our…
