How Society Self Destructs

August 5, 2022

Today I learned something new from an article by fellow writer, Alberto Garcia. I learned the meaning of an Electronic Age term, “Phubbing.” So any information I convey here either originated with Mr. Garcia or results from my consequent thinking.

Phubbing, according to Mr. Garcia, is ignoring your immediate companion or your surroundings while becoming engaged with your “smart phone” ( a really debatable term).

We have probably all seen the videos of people walking right into stationary objects because they’re fixated on their smart phone. But few have remarked on being snubbed by a companion when that companion chooses to answer a call when they should be conversing with you. They don’t even take the time to say goodbye, they just say “I’ve got to take this” before switching their attention away from you. Once habituated to this kind of disregard, it becomes normalized in that person. “They think nothing of it” also reaches a point where we accept such rudeness with resignation.

Lets just decide that we are as important as some other party and that the old rules of conversation be restored. For a very long time, these rules have smoothed the way for entire civilizations and abandoning personal politeness just starts eating away at any society. Phubbing is dehumanizing.

Ironically the latest generations raised since digital access became practically universal are victimizing their whole society via this form of rudeness to others. They are undermining themselves as well.