Freeman Wu

during when they're out and about.

So there's this whole thing called fubbing, right?

So fubbing occurs- Hold on a second.

Exactly.

That is exactly what thubbing is, right?

Right.

And so prior research has shown that, you know, it's, you know, when we're on our phones at a, you know, at a party, right?

People just think that, like, come on, just put that phone away, right?

I mean, you're here, you're supposed to be interacting, you're supposed to be socializing.

So, in fact, I have this friend who,

I'm not going to name him, but he loves to just be on his phone when we're at restaurants.

And one time I was like, hey, buddy, like, would it be better if I WhatsApped you, right, so that you can actually look up from your screen?

Like, would that get a faster response?

Yeah, and so I think what's happening is that we are overgeneralizing as observers.

Like, whenever they're on their phone, they can't be up to any good, right?

And even if they're taking photos, I don't care if, you know, they're actually more engaged.

But I just...

they just seem less present, right?

And so what we actually found in one study is, you know, is this just another instantiation of thubbing, right?

Do people just think that when you're on your phone taking photos, you're just ignoring everyone?