Study Reveals 'Phubbing' Harms Parent-Child Bonds
A study titled 'Mommy, do you love your phone more than me?' published in Frontiers in Psychology in June, surveyed 600 US adolescents aged 12 to 17. It found that parental attention to screens during bids for connection left teens feeling 'devalued, dismissed, or unimportant'. The term 'phubbing' describes ignoring social settings in favor of phones, and the research highlights its long-term negative effects when parents engage in it around children.
Growing Evidence of Negative Effects
Smartphones have been widely available for only two decades, with 98% of US adults now owning one, according to Pew. While research on smartphone use is relatively new, there is growing consensus on negative effects, especially on children. An array of studies have found teens are especially prone to compulsive, extreme use of phones and social media apps like TikTok, Instagram, and Snapchat. Thousands of lawsuits allege these apps were designed to be addictive, leading to harm among kids.
Parental Phone Attachment Understudied
Scholarship on parents' gadget attachment has been less studied, but new research adds to a handful of similar studies. A 2023 study in China concluded that parental phone attachment made children more prone to screen addiction. A 2024 study in the Journal of Pediatrics found that parents' 'phubbing' led to distant relationships with kids, who were often whinier, sulkier, and prone to temper tantrums.
Insecure Attachment Can Last a Lifetime
Don Grant, lead author of the Frontiers in Psychology study, told Bloomberg that a parent's phone use can cause a child to have 'insecure attachment', leading to lower self-esteem and lack of confidence. 'It could really unfavorably impact their attachment security, which they will carry for life,' Grant said. The study's authors acknowledge that not all phone-distracted parents will lead to insecure kids, but the research aims to highlight adolescents' perceptions of parental attention regarding device use.
