Minding Our Manners: Smartphone Etiquette is Still a Work in Progress [INFOGRAPHIC]

Some people check their smartphones frequently as they’re winding down to sleep, and others grab their smartphones first thing in the morning. While our daily routine is being disrupted by the emergence of these tiny yet impactful machines, how is our society keeping up with them? How have our perceptions about smartphone use updated to the evolution of the technology?

A study by the University of Essex found the presence of cell phones can have negative effects on closeness, interaction, and conversation quality and can interfere with human relationships. If you and your circle are active smartphone users, you’ve probably experienced “phubbing,” a newly coined term for neglecting people in real life in favor of using your phone. So when is phubbing appropriate, if ever?