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Welcome back, readers.
Your phone might be destroying your life.
This newsletter is entirely about one alarming trend we discussed: phubbing.
If you're aiming to connect, whether with your kids, your partner, or your next $100K+ deal, this one’s for you.
And while you’re at it, check out the full episode, it’s a really fun one and I think you’ll love it.
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1. Phubbing isn’t petty, it’s ruining lives.
Phubbing, choosing to look at your screen instead of paying attention to someone IRL, was coined back in 2012.
Modern parental phubbing isn’t harmless. It chips away at:
Emotional bonds, making kids feel overlooked and unimportant (parents.com)
Secure attachment, dampening language, empathy, and trust development (mdpi.com)
Mental health, with stronger ties to teen depression, phone addiction, social struggle
One meta-analysis confirms: kids with phubbing parents are likelier to feel depressed and addicted to their own phones (pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov).
2. You’re raising your replacement.
Kids mimic everything you do. When they see you always screen-first, they internalize that pattern:
Higher phone dependency, mediated by weakened family bonds
More tech-based solace, causing more conflict and digital drift
Ego depletion and distress, even if the damage is emotional
Your screen habit can build a pathway straight to their screen addiction.
3. It destroys adult relationships too.
Phubbing isn't just a kid issue:
Couples with one partner who phubs report significant drops in relationship satisfaction and intimacy (pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov)
It erodes social cooperation and life satisfaction—especially among Gen Z and young adults
It's contagious: place a phone on the table, and engagement plummets—even when phones are face down
So yes, even your co‑worker or client might be silently clocking out because your phone buzzed.
4. So what do we do? Here’s the playbook:
Declare safe zones: meals, before bedtime, family time—screens are off-limits
Model presence: show your kids (and clients) what mindfulness looks like; leaders set the tone
Use code words: playful cues like “red light” when attention drifts—for fun, not shame
Check in often: ask “Is this urgent?” before you scroll—especially at the dinner table. Make intention more visible than habit
Research Backed
Parental phubbing → teen depression & phone addiction: Meta-analysis confirms the link (pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov)
We are their models: Kids copy parental screen habits and internalize relational cues (frontiersin.org)
Phubbing fragments relationships: Even device-absent phubbing = less intimacy, lower satisfaction (time.com)
Get Dad and Grandpa some merch just in time for Father’s Day.
Our challenge to you:
Next dinner, before grabbing your phone, ask:
“Is this more important than looking at my kid’s face right now?”
It’s not AI. It’s not some app. It’s presence. And in a distraction-driven world, pause just might be the most radical skill you can cultivate.
Unplug to reconnect, your family will thank you.
See you next week.
Got a phubbing story? Drop us a note on Instagram or TikTok @twodadsintech.
Your example could help someone wake up.
P.S. Check us out on Instagram + TikTok @twodadsintech. Here’s a video where Daniel gets ripped to shreds by a bunch of moms in the comments (😅).
@danielcberk You can’t pay attention to your kids and your phone at the same time. You need to choose one or the other. From episode 25 of @twodadsinte... See more