What Is 'Phubbing' – And Are You Guilty Of It?

Put your phone down and learn about the latest buzzword. No, seriously - put your phone DOWN.

When was the last time you went out for dinner with a friend?

This weekend? And you shared a bowl of sweet potato fries?

Ah, that sounds nice.

Now, when was the last time that you went out for dinner with a friend, and didn't look at your phone while they were talking to you?

What's that, it was in 2002? When your mum confiscated your Nokia 3210? And you cried for six hours because she deleted your Snake high score in the process?

Here's the thing. We all know we're addicted to technology, and we all know that sometimes (sometimes) it makes us a little bit antisocial. But it turns out, our lives (as documented in mobile phone upgrades from navy blue Nokia 3210s to the rose gold iPhone 6s) are becoming increasingly unhappy because of it.

In fact, as of last week, there's actually a word to describe the moment when you reach into your handbag, extract your mobile, and start browsing Twitter while your best mate recounts her date disaster.

It's called 'Phubbing' - or, for the uninformed, PHone snUBBING.

There's even a website to help you overcome your phubbing problem (it's creatively called Stop Phubbing, btw).

'Phubbing is rife throughout the world,' reads the website. 'Just imagine couples of the future sitting in silence. Relationships based on status updates. The ability to talk or communicate face-to-face completely eradicated. Something must be done. And it must be done now.'