Is your phone ruining your well-being? Exploring the role of phubbing and mobile phone usage addiction on the well-being of users

The consumption of mobile screen time is increasing day by day. When a person engages with the mobile phone for an extended period of time, it depicts addiction and escapes from the surroundings, leading to phubbing behavior. Therefore, this study investigates mobile phone addiction and how phubbing behavior affects psychological well-being. In addition, this paper examines the moderating role of self-determination theory in the aforesaid relationship. To examine the cause-and-effect relationship among the examined variables, PLS-SEM is used as a statistical tool for analysis. The data was collected from 450 participants via a survey through mall-intercept method, using a non-probability purposive sampling technique. The results exhibited that mobile phone addiction is a significant determinant of phubbing behavior and well-being. The results also indicated that phubbing behavior negatively influences the well-being of the mobile phone user. It was also found that need satisfaction theory moderated the relationship between mobile phone usage, phubbing behavior, and well-being. The role of gender and time spent on mobile phones as control variables was also found to be significant. This current study offers insights into mobile phone addiction, phubbing behavior, and well-being, offering theoretical and practical implications for digital health, underpinned by the need satisfaction theory on the mobile phone user.