The effect of smombie and phubbing levels on psychological well-being in adolescents

Objective: This study was conducted to examine the effect of smombie (attention distraction and alienation from the environment due to smartphone use) and phubbing (ignoring others by being preoccupied with one’s phone during face-to-face interactions) levels on adolescents’ psychological well-being. Method: This descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted with 626 adolescents living in Turkey between June–September 2025. Data was collected via an online survey administered through Google Forms. The data collection tools used were the Smombie Scale for Adolescents, the General Phubbing Scale, and the Psychological Well-Being Scale. R programming language 4.1.3, G*Power 3.1, and SPSS-22 programs were used in the analysis of the study. Results: According to hierarchical regression analysis results, smombie level explained 15.7% of the variance in psychological well-being (R2 = 0.157; F(1,624) = 117.64, p < 0.001) and was found to be negatively associated with psychological well-being (β = − 0.398; 95% CI [− 0.475, − 0.329]). With the addition of phubbing level, the total variance explained by the model increased to 22.3% (R2 = 0.223; F(2,623) = 90.70, p < 0.001). In this model, both smombie (β = − 0.171; 95% CI [− 0.266, − 0.079]) and phubbing (β = − 0.344; 95% CI [− 0.224, − 0.130]) levels showed statistically significant and negative relationships with psychological well-being; with phubbing being a stronger predictor. Conclusion: This study demonstrates that smombie and phubbing behaviors in adolescents are negatively associated with psychological well-being. The cross-sectional design of this study limits causal inferences. Therefore, future research should employ a longitudinal design to determine the direction of these relationships and their effects over time. © The Author(s) 2026.