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Stop "phubbing!!" -- a leading activist warns smart phone users

Sheikha Intisar Salem Al-Ali Al-Sabah
Sheikha Intisar Salem Al-Ali Al-Sabah
KUWAIT, Dec 24 (KUNA) -- The prominent Kuwaiti female activist, Sheikha Intisar Salem Al-Ali Al-Sabah, is sounding the alarm bell; smart phones and gadgets' users in Kuwait are being dragged into the prevailing and expanding global wave, "phubbing," a newly created term that refers to persons who have turned drastically aloof from society and have chosen to be engrossed in the devices' usage.
Sheikha Intisar's rhetorical warning is being coupled with action. Her anti-phubbing campaign is demonstrated at Kuwait's top landmark mall, the Avenues, called "Al-Nuwair campaign," scheduled to proceed till December 28th.
Since emergence of the smart phones in 2005, peoples throughout the world have become much more connected, however, some people who depend heavily on these devices have lost face-to-face conversation and communication skills, Sheikha Intisar said in a statement, underlining some motives that have nudged her to launch "Al-Nuwair campaign," aimed at discouraging smart phone users from snubbing their friends, associates and loved ones.
"Now the problem has become widely spread; being preoccupied with our phones, ignoring people around us," said Sheikha Intisar, the mastermind of the campaign, explaining that in English, the term phubbing has been created to imply snubbing, which may be viewed as tantamount to rudeness.
"The phones has become the most important thing in many peoples' lives. It should be on the eating table, being carried while mingling with friends, at work, at social gatherings and even during car driving," she said, affirming how the smart devices have become predominant in peoples' lives, affecting daily behaviors and undermining the warmth of direct contacts.
Using SMSs may develop into a form of addiction that is very difficult to treat, she said, noting that some users spend up to seven hours per day chatting by writing words on the smart phones.
These mobile phones and the smart technology may shorten peoples' lives due to limited technology-free contacts among people. Their heavy usage may cause insomnia, frustration and depression, "thus we have launched Al-Nuwair in an effort to counter this phenomenon," she said.
"You may end up, while being with friends, talking to yourself because the others are busy with their phones," she said indicating this modern-time behavior may be harmful to social interaction and persons and turns contacts among peoples icy.
She sarcastically regretted that "friends at gatherings may appear like strangers getting together; each overwhelmed in his (her) own world," portraying a situation seen almost everywhere nowadays.
Sheikha Intisar revealed that Al-Nuwair has manufactured the "phumbing," a small piece of cloth to cover the thumb "and remind you not to phub." She urged the people of Kuwait to restore to the tech-free, warm connections with each others, and pocket these gadgets during social interactions. (end)) mf.rk