Phubbing amongst higher education students : policy implications for sustainable development

International audienceSmart phones usage has caused a new source of concern in real life called: phubbing. Phubbing can be described as an individual looking at his or her mobile phone during a conversation with other individuals. They are known to escape from interpersonal communication due to mobile use (Karadağ et al.2015). This recent phenomenonis often ignored in the literature in the context of higher education institutions. We address this research gap and ground our study in past literature and hypothesize the mediating influence of internet addiction on fear of missing out and phubbing behavior amongst graduate students. Signs of addiction to the Internet are correlated to smartphone usage (Robert and David, 2016). Fear of missing out, is defined as a pervasive apprehension of being disconnected, absent or missing an experience which others (i.e., peers, friends, family) might receive or enjoy (Przybylski, Murayama, DeHaan, & Gladwell, 2013). The findings from this study, provide implications for higher educational institutions developing strategies for UN global sustainable development goals numbers 4.7 and 4.A which are about equitable education; building inclusive and safe school environment, respectively (UNDP, 2019)