International Journal on Science and Technology

E-ISSN: 2229-7677   •   Impact Factor: 9.88

A Widely Indexed Open Access Peer Reviewed Multidisciplinary Bi-monthly Scholarly International Journal

Call for Paper Volume 17 Issue 4 October-December 2026 Submit your research before last 3 days of December to publish your research paper in the issue of October-December.
Submit Research Paper Join as a Reviewer

Plagiarism is checked by the leading plagiarism checker TurnItIn

Call for Paper

Volume 17 Issue 4
October-December 2026

Submit your research paper

Indexing Partners
Academia Advanced Sciences Index Bielefeld Academic Search Engine CiteSeer DRJI Google Scholar Independent Search Engine & Directory Network ISI (International Scientific Indexing) Issuu Mendeley Research Networks
RefSeek ResearcherId - Thomson Reuters ResearchGate Scirus Scribd Semantic Scholar UTeM - Universiti Teknikal Malaysia Melaka Wiki for Call for Papers WorldCat Zenodo

Connected Across Oceans, Disconnected at Arm’s Length: A Qualitative Meta-Synthesis of Phubbing and Human Relationships

Author(s) Ms. Rama Devi, Prof. Dr. Jatinder Grover
Country India
Abstract Smartphones enable instant global connection but often undermine face-to-face relationships through phubbing- the act of ignoring present companions in favor of a mobile device. This paper presents a qualitative meta-synthesis of peer-reviewed studies, analysing lived experiences, relational consequences, and coping strategies associated with phubbing. Six themes emerged. First, digital akrasia captures the moral dissonance whereby individuals condemn phubbing yet continue to engage in it. Second, phubbing constitutes an emotional threat, producing feelings of neglect, jealousy, and diminished trust in close relationships. Third, it causes a lower level of conversation and attention, and dialogues become superficial and interrupted by using devices. Fourth, boredom, fear of missing out, habitual checking, and smartphones addiction tendencies are the predictors and drivers. Fifth, the situation and the type of relationship softens the damage: partner phubbing ruins intimacy, parental phubbing ruins child attachment, whereas in workplaces and classrooms it decreases engagement and performance. Finally, people adopt varied coping and repair strategies, such as confrontation, reciprocity, boundary-setting, or acceptance. The synthesis highlights phubbing as a normalized yet resented phenomenon, underscoring the need for cultural sensitivity, digital etiquette, and institutional interventions to mitigate its relational costs.
Keywords Phubbing, qualitative synthesis, digital akrasia, smartphone use, relationships, thematic analysis
Field Arts
Published In Volume 17, Issue 4, October-December 2026
Published On 2026-10-25
View / Download PDF File

Share this


CrossRef

Crossref DOI prefix of IJSAT is 10.71097/IJSAT

Downloads
Research Paper Format Copyright Permission Form and Undertaking Form Cover Page Vol 17 Isu 3Cover Page Vol 17 Isu 2Cover Page Vol 17 Isu 1

All research papers published on this website are licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License, and all rights belong to their respective authors/researchers.

CC-BY-SA Open Access

About IJSAT
Fees & Payment
Current Issue
Publication Archive 		Submit Research Paper
Track Submission Status
Publication Guidelines
Publication Ethics 		Join as a Reviewer
Editors & Reviewers
Get Reviewer Membership Certi. 		Website/Journal Policies
Usage Policy
Content Policies
Privacy Policy
Contact Us Message on WhatsApp +91-9687-182-185 editor@ijsat.org