People who are 'phone snubbed' by others often turn to their own phones, social media for acceptance, study finds
Building on their earlier study that phubbing can damage relationships and lead to depression, researchers Meredith David, Ph.D., assistant professor of marketing, and James A. Roberts, Ph.D., The Ben H. Williams Professor of Marketing, have found that the circle nearly completes itself as the offended parties frequently jump online to find affirmation in the likes and shares and positive comments of social media. Their study, "Phubbed and Alone: Phone Snubbing, Social Exclusion, and Attachment to Social Media," is published in the Journal of the Association for Consumer Research . The research investigates the relationship between phubbing, social media attachment, depression , anxiety and stress. "When an individual is phubbed, he/she feels socially excluded which leads to an increased need for attention. Instead of turning to face-to-face interaction to restore a sense of inclusion, study participants turned to social media to regain a sense of belonging,...