We have become so obsessed about how we portray our life to others through the digital medium that we often forget how essential it is to live, invest and enjoy in the present moment and the reality we are living in.We have become convinced that our smartphone alerts and notifications are urgent and important ahead of anything else no matter what it is. We always feel the desire to check or reply our emails and social media accounts over and over again, as such our life is dependent on that only.Addiction to social networking, dating apps, texting, and messaging can extend to the point where virtual, online friends become more important than real-life relationships.Smartphones have effectively removed us from the reality of life, and if we have small children, it will have long-term repercussions on them because they are likely to follow our behavior. If they see us with our heads down immersed in smart devices, then they will also follow the same.According to the recent study, published in journal NeuroRegulation, they believe that loneliness is partly an outcome of replacing face-to-face communication with a form of interaction where body language and other signals cannot be understood.A recent Facebook study shows that the way we interact on Facebook affects whether it makes us feel good or bad.Another study shows us that social media actually makes us alone.Phubbing is the practice of ignoring others in favor of our smartphones. We all have gone through it, either as a victim or as an offender. We may no longer even notice it that when we have been phubbed or even we are phubbing, it has become a normal part of our life. However, researchers have shown that the intense impact phubbing can have on our relationships and well-being.According to the recent study published in March this year, Phubbed people start to turn to social media. They do this to seek the inclusion of them in any form.When we use social media just to view the post of other user’s, our happiness decreases.They turn to their smartphone to distract themselves from the painful feelings of being socially and mentally neglected.Phubbed people, in turn, become more likely to attach themselves to their smartphones in an unhealthy manner, thereby increasing their own feelings of stress and depression.
