With the advent and popularization of smartphones and tablet computers, more and more people in Pingtan county have joined the tribe of "phubbers", reported the Pingtan Times on March 17.

"Phubbing" is being impolite in a social situation by looking at your phone instead of paying attention to the person you are with. The word phubbing and its derivations first appeared in 2012, formed from combining the noun "phone" and verb "snub", meaning "to insult someone by ignoring them". So phubbers are smartphone addicts who snub others by checking their mobile phones.

It is not hard to find phubbers in Pingtan, says the newspaper.

According to Yang Liping, a local resident, the first thing she does after she wakes up and the last thing before going to sleep is check her smartphone.

"It is just an interactive lifestyle where you check if you get missed phone calls or messages, and look through your friends' statuses on weibo and WeChat," she added.

Young phubbers can be most easily spotted on buses. Ms Zhou, a bus rider, says she focuses on her cellphone "just to kill time".

Xiao Guo, a middle schooler, echoed Zhou's sentiment by saying he takes out his cell phone whenever he feels bored walking on the street.

It is not just the young people who are infatuated with phubbing; some middle-aged people also use smartphones for entertainment.

Mr. Du revealed that he plays Doudizhu (Fight the Landlord), a popular card game, on his tablet PC right after dinner almost every day. His daughter even gets annoyed at the game's sound effects.

Ms Jiang complained to the newspaper that more and more people tend to "phub" instead of talking to each other at social reunions. Many of them like to take pictures of gorgeous dishes and post them on social media.

The phubbing phenomenon not only dampens people’s connections in real life, but also poses a threat to their health, according to experts.

"Staring at electronic products such as cell phones and tablets will easily cause eye strain. The blue light on the screen also harms one's retina. About 90 percent of people with glasses are believed to use cell phones and computers too often," said an employee at a glasses store.

Lowering one's head impacts the spine as well, he added.

Car drivers and pedestrians should not use cell phones because that will distract people, reducing their reaction time and perhaps causing a road accident, said Lin Yibin, a traffic officer.

He also warned that phubbing drivers will be fined 100 yuan ($16.14) and will have two points deducted from their driving records in accordance with traffic rules.