Phubbing phenomenon in educational environments: examining the impact of supervisor phubbing on student outcomes

Abstract

Phubbing (phone-snubbing) -a word to describe an interruption of a conversation due to using and/or glancing at a smartphone while communicating in person- has become an important problem. This unpleasant behavior can occur in different contexts like romantic relationships, business life, family relations, and educational environments. Previous researches generally focused on the first three situations; however, there is currently a lack of studies addressing phubbing behavior in an educational context. Although there have been insistent calls to examine the effects of phubbing behaviors in educational environments, to our knowledge, this study is the first which specifically focuses on supervisor-supervisee communication and the impact of phubbing behavior on this relationship. In this study, the term 'supervisor-phubbing' (SPhubbing) has been coined in the literature and described as the supervisor's act of ignoring supervisees by using their smartphone or by being distracted by their smartphone during an academic meeting. Our research model, which draws upon Social Exchange Theory and Leader-Member Exchange Theory, examines whether SPhubbing results in any change to supervision outcomes or has an impact on trust between a student and their supervisor. Our results clearly show that SPhubbing has a negative impact on a student's trust in their supervisor which is important because trust positively impacts student satisfaction and perceived supervisor contribution to learning. In addition, student satisfaction is positively related to perceived supervisor contribution to learning. Students expect to be given the attention during a conversation; unless they are inclined to trust their supervisors less which undermines their supervision outcomes.