Phubbing and mental well-being: a media naturalness theory approach to digital disruption in face-to-face communication

Purpose This study aims to investigate how phubbing – diverting attention from face-to-face interactions to mobile devices – affects psychological well-being. Grounded in media naturalness theory (MNT), the research explores the roles of perceived immediacy, power dynamics, rejection sensitivity, social attraction and emotional arousal in shaping communication satisfaction. Using a latent variable model and Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM), the study aims to uncover the psychological mechanisms underlying digitally disrupted conversations and how individual traits may moderate these effects. Design/methodology/approach The study uses a publicly available data set from ICPSR, comprising 68 participants who engaged in face-to-face conversations under varying smartphone usage conditions. An eight-construct latent variable model was developed to examine 11 hypotheses grounded in MNT. PLS-SEM was conducted using WarpPLS, which is well-suited for non-normal data distributions. The model assessed direct, mediating and moderating relationships among key psychological and communication constructs, including immediacy, power perception, rejection sensitivity, social attraction, arousal and satisfaction, to understand the psychological impact of phubbing during interpersonal interactions. Findings The analysis reveals that longer interaction duration increases perceived immediacy and emotional arousal. Immediacy positively influences perceived power and social attraction, while power enhances perceptions of phubbing, which in turn elevates rejection sensitivity. Although immediacy generally predicts higher satisfaction, this effect is negatively mediated by social attraction and moderated by rejection sensitivity, indicating that personal traits can offset the benefits of natural communication. The structural model demonstrates strong reliability, validity and model fit, highlighting the complex psychological consequences of phubbing and how digital interruptions subtly undermine emotional satisfaction in face-to-face conversations. Originality/value This study offers a novel application of MNT to examine the psychological impacts of phubbing within digitally disrupted face-to-face interactions. Unlike prior research that focuses primarily on interpersonal outcomes, this work uncovers deeper psychological mechanisms – such as power perception, rejection sensitivity and emotional arousal – that mediate or moderate the effects of mobile phone use on communication satisfaction. By integrating dispositional and relational variables into a single structural model, the study advances theoretical understanding of digital disruption in interpersonal settings and provides practical insights for mental health practitioners, educators and designers of communication technologies.