Could Your Cell Phone Be Ruining Your Relationship?

A 2015 study has confirmed that cell phone use could be ruining your relationship and making you depressed.

While cell phones certainly keep us connected, it turns out they can be doing the opposite when it comes to your relationship. A new study from Baylor University's Hankamer School of Business confirms that smartphones can actually damage things between you and your partner and make you more depressed.

Researchers surveyed 453 adults in the US to find out the real effects of partner phone snubbing or “Pphubbing" (your new word for the day). Pphubbing is defined in the study as “the extent to which people use or are distracted by their cellphones while in the company of their relationship partners," aka one of the most annoying situations to be in.

They found that those who were phubbed by their partners felt conflict that led to lower relationship satisfaction. “These lower levels of relationship satisfaction, in turn, led to lower levels of life satisfaction and, ultimately, higher levels of depression," explained one of the study's authors, James A. Roberts, Ph.D., The Ben H. Williams Professor of Marketing.

While most of us are guilty of checking our phones at inopportune times, this study is a wake-up call (pun intended). So, the next time you're spending quality time with your partner, it's worth it to put the smartphone in the other room. Your relationship may thank you for that one.