Exploring Couples’ Experiences of Mobile Phone Dependency and Its Impact on Marital Interaction
Keywords:
mobile phone dependency, partner phubbing, marital interaction, technoference, qualitative study, couplesAbstract
This study aimed to explore couples’ lived experiences of mobile phone dependency and explain its perceived impact on marital interaction. This qualitative study was conducted using thematic analysis. Participants included 22 married individuals living in Tehran who were selected through purposive sampling. Inclusion criteria were being married for at least two years, experiencing noticeable marital tension or dissatisfaction related to mobile phone use, and willingness to participate in semi-structured interviews. Data were collected through individual semi-structured interviews and continued until theoretical saturation was achieved. All interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed verbatim, and analyzed using NVivo software. The coding process included familiarization with the data, initial coding, theme development, review of themes, and final naming of categories. Credibility and trustworthiness were enhanced through member checking, peer review, prolonged engagement with the data, and maintaining an analytic audit trail. Data analysis led to the identification of five main categories: disruption of shared attention in the presence of mobile phones, erosion of intimate dialogue, transformation of mobile phone use into a source of conflict and emotional rejection, ambiguity of privacy boundaries and marital monitoring, and attempts to renegotiate digital rules in married life. Participants described mobile phone dependency not merely as an individual habit but as a relational phenomenon that weakened emotional presence, active listening, perceived responsiveness, emotional security, and feelings of being valued within the marital relationship. The findings indicated that mobile phone dependency may erode marital interaction by reducing mutual attention, weakening face-to-face dialogue, increasing misinterpretations, and intensifying feelings of rejection. Couple therapy and marital education in the digital era should address digital boundaries, emotional presence, and communication skills that protect the relationship from technology-related interruptions.
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