Don't 'Phub' Your Family and Friends Over the Holidays. Make One Small Change to Your Phone Etiquette - CNET

"Why are you on your phone right now?" says a voice at the dinner table. You look up. Everyone is talking to the people around them, eating, laughing, celebrating. The only screen in sight is yours. Zooey Liao/CNET While smartphones are usually great for keeping us connected , they sometimes cut us off from the people who are right in front of us. How many times have you been hanging out with friends or family, only for the conversation to pause awkwardly as everyone picks up their phones to check their notifications? This kind of subtle disconnect, often called "phubbing," or phone snubbing, happens more than we realize. Even when it's unintentional, it can leave the folks who aren't using their phones feeling invisible. If you want to be more present during dinners or social gatherings, something as simple as leaving your phone face down can help you stay focused on the people right in front of you. I've been guilty of paying more attention to my screen than my companion, and I've felt bad about it afterward. There's nothing wrong with replying to an urgent text message or pulling up a funny TikTok to share. But I know I probably spend too much time staring at screens (a lot of that time is unhealthy doomscrolling ). These days, when I'm not using my phone, I try to be more deliberate about keeping it out of sight and out of mind. If I do need to keep my phone at hand, I nearly always have it face down. Don't miss any of our unbiased tech content and lab-based reviews. Add CNET as a preferred Google source. It can protect your phone screen I have a few reasons for making sure my phone screen is turned away. The first one is practical: When my phone isn't in my pocket, it's probably sitting on a desk or table -- which means it's probably not far from a glass of water or mug of coffee. As a somewhat clumsy person, I've spilled beverages on my phone plenty of times. And even though most modern phones are water-resistant , why take chances? With my screen hidden, I can keep the most important part of my phone protected from splashes and other mishaps. For extra protection, I have a phone case with raised edges. This helps prevent the screen from coming in direct contact with crumbs and debris that might be left on the table. My CNET colleague David Carnoy told me about an incident where he was charging his phone on his kitchen counter with the screen face up. Someone dropped a mug on top of it and cracked the screen. Unfortunately, he didn't have a screen protector on this device (he knows better now). It could help save your phone battery Another good reason to keep my phone face down is that it won't turn on each time I get a notification. That means I can save a little bit of battery charge...

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