You’ve probably already experienced it: the person you’re talking to is talking to you while fiddling around on their cell phone. This is not only rude, but dangerous.
If you’re talking to someone and they’re constantly reading or scrolling on their phone, you’re being phubbed. “Phubbing” is the name given to the phenomenon when people don’t pay attention to the other person, but rather to their smartphone. You check messages, type a WhatsApp with nimble fingers or search for a nearby restaurant online. Sometimes phubbing even disguises itself as interest: As soon as you give a keyword, the other person starts wildly searching for information on the Internet. But the effect is the same.