Phubbing: Smartphone-induced social exclusion.

The smartphone is omnipresent in our everyday lives - on average, less than twenty minutes pass between two glances at it. In interpersonal relationships, this can lead to conflicts. Scientists at the University of Wuppertal have been taking a closer look at the effect of smartphone use in social situations for some time. In a new study, they are now looking specifically at love relationships: How does inappropriate use - also known as phubbing - affect couples' well-being and their closeness to each other? And what helps to change the behavior? Currently, the team from the Department of Health Psychology and Applied Diagnostics is still looking for couples to participate in the study.

The study is being led by Prof. Dr. Theda Radtke. The chair explains who is eligible to participate: "If couples live together, the smartphone is a topic in the relationship and there is a desire to change that, the couples can contact us or directly fill out the first short survey." According to the researcher, this takes around ten minutes and serves her team to make an initial assessment of the couple's situation. If the participants fit the profile of the study, three more online surveys follow in the next three weeks.

Couples not only support science in the process - above all, they do something for their relationship: "Participating in the study enables couples to reflect on their smartphone use and, in the best case scenario, strengthen their relationship," says Radtke. The researchers also hope to provide very specific tips to help couples whose smartphone use leads to disagreements and conflicts. "We accompany the couples over a few weeks to be able to achieve long-term effects and to show them how inappropriate usage times can be reduced in the presence of the other person."

More information about the study and the first short survey is available here.

We are looking for people who are at least 18 years old and live with their partner. Only one person in the couple will complete the online surveys, so it should be discussed in advance who will participate in the study.

Participants have the chance to win vouchers worth a total of 250 euros.
Further questions can be directed to decodinglove[at]uni-wuppertal.de.