Tech-obsessed parents that snub their children to look at their phones are more likely to raise teenagers addicted to their own devices, study finds
- Researchers in Changchun, China, looked at influence on children aged 11-16
- Study looked at ‘phubbing’, or phone snubbing, versus smartphone addiction
- Found boys and girls were more likely to develop addiction if they were phubbed
- But only boys were more likely to befriend ‘deviant’ peers who drank underage
Children who are ignored by parents who are too focused on their mobile phones are more likely to develop an addiction to their own handsets, a study has found.
Researchers at the Northeast Normal University in Changchun, China, examined parental influence on 1,007 adolescents aged 11 to 16.
The study, published in the Children and Youth Services Review, looked at phubbing – a combination of the word ‘phone’ and ‘snubbing’ – by parents.
Co-first authors Xiaochun Xie and Xiaowei Zhu defined phubbing as ‘undesirable mobile phone usage while interacting with children and adolescents’.
For example, this could mean parents texting someone back or glancing at their screen mid-conversation, or outright ignoring kids in favour of talking on the phone.
Children who are ignored by parents who are too focused on their mobile phones are more likely to develop an addiction to their own handsets, a study has found (file photo)
WHAT IS PHUBBING?
Phubbing is a portmanteau of the words phone and snubbing.
To phub someone is to ignore them and focus on something on your mobile phone such as texting or social media instead, despite being in their presence.
The term was first coined in 2012 as part of a campaign to stop the practice completely.
It found that not only were children more likely to replicate their parents own behaviour and develop a mobile phone addiction, boys were also more likely to become friends with deviant peers.
Researchers asked 518 girls and 489 boys to answer surveys about how often their parents phubbed them, how many of their friends were involved in deviant behaviours such as underage drinking, and their own smartphone addiction.
The group were asked to give a scaled response to statements such as ‘my parent glances at his/her cellphone while talking to me’ or ‘I feel lost when I do not have my smartphone with me’.
They found a direct correlation between phubbing by parents and mobile phone addiction in both genders.
Researchers have suggested that this could be because they are learning to duplicate the behaviour.
Another theory behind the correlation is that children feel less attached to the parents because they are being ignored, and turn to social media to get what they need elsewhere.
Previous studies have suggested boys may be more affected by parental phubbing than girls, leading to a greater tendency to make friends with people who take drugs or smoke.
Researchers at the Northeast Normal University in Changchun, China, examined parental influence on 1,007 adolescents aged 11 to 16 (file photo)
Source: Read Full Article