Phubbing friends: Understanding face threats from, and responses to, friends’ cell phone usage through the lens of politeness theory

Abstract

The study examined friends’ phubbing (i.e., the act of snubbing a relational partner by using a cell phone in his/her presence), through the lens of politeness theory. Quantitative and qualitative data from 404 participants revealed that, although most accepted the behavior and did not view it as a face-threatening act (FTA), others perceived it as face threatening, particularly of positive face, eliciting varied negative emotions. Specific behaviors such as repeatedly looking at the phone or playing a game alone had the highest positive face-threat scores. Most chose not to respond to the FTA. Results indicated that increased perception of the behavior as face threatening was associated with higher reported likelihood of responding with politeness strategies, although no specific strategy emerged as the preferred response.

Keywords:

• Cell Phones
• Face
• Friendships
• Phubbing
• Politeness Theory

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.