Phubbing, family atmosphere and self-esteem in Peruvian teenagers in the context of social isolation

Abstract

Social interaction is a key point in the development of human beings. The smartphones, internet or other technological sources, for instance, is changing the way teenagers interact with their peers and families. This is why, in the context of social isolation due to Covid-19, is important to know the relationship between phubbing, family atmosphere and self-esteem in teenagers. The research had a quantitative approach, correlational scope, cross-sectional non-experimental design, and a sample of 332 teenagers from Lima, Peru. It was found that phubbing relates negatively to teenager’s self-esteem (-.47) and family atmosphere (-.48). It was also evident a positive correlation between self-esteem and family atmosphere (.51). Furthermore, there was not found significative differences regarding gender, age, kind of school or study modality. Phubbing and self-esteem show diverse results according to the teenager's family constitution. Finally, the number of hours that the teenager devotes to the use of mobile phone relates negatively to self-esteem and family atmosphere, but positively to phubbing. In light of the above and as a conclusion, everything suggests that the behaviors associated with phubbing relate negatively to family atmosphere and also to teenagers' self-esteem; which turns phubbing into a dangerous issue to teenagers' development.