A1 Level – Elementary
1. Do you use your phone at dinner?
2. What is a long text message?
3. Do you look at people when they talk?
4. What is a bad manner?
5. Do you feel angry when someone ignores you?
6. What is a good conversation?
7. Do you like quiet restaurants?
8. What is a polite person?
9. Do you think phones are distracting?
10. What is a simple question?
11. Do you turn off your phone sometimes?
12. What is a shared meal?
13. Do you check your phone often?
14. What are three reasons people use their phone when talking to others?
15. Do you think phubbing is a real problem?
A2 Level – Pre-Intermediate
1. What is the difference between checking the time and reading a long message?
2. Why do people feel the need to check their phone constantly?
3. What are the good things and bad things about bringing your phone everywhere?
4. How can a person politely ask someone to put their phone away?
5. Should restaurants ban phones at the dinner table?
6. Why is eye contact important in a conversation?
7. Do you think phubbing is a form of addiction?
8. What is the purpose of leaving your phone in another room?
9. How does phubbing affect the flow of a meeting?
10. What is the difference between being rude and being distracted?
11. Do you think phubbing is becoming a normal thing?
12. What are the problems when one person is talking and the other is looking down?
13. When is the best time to check your phone during a social event?
14. What are two things that help reduce phone use in social settings?
15. How does phubbing affect trust in a relationship?
B1 Level – Intermediate
1. What are the rules for politely excusing yourself to take an important phone call?
2. How does the fear of missing out (FOMO) contribute to phubbing?
3. Should the government promote campaigns against excessive phone use in public?
4. What is the difference between phubbing a friend and phubbing a colleague?
5. Do you believe that phubbing is disrespectful to the other person?
6. What are the challenges of resisting the urge to check your phone during a conversation?
7. How does the focus on the digital world affect the appreciation for the real world?
8. What is the idea of “digital etiquette”?
9. Is it fair or unfair when a person is ignored because their companion is on their phone?
10. How does phubbing make people feel less valued in a relationship?
11. What are the steps for properly having a phone-free dinner?
12. What is the value of spending a day without using your phone?
13. Should public media highlight the negative effects of phubbing on mental health?
14. What are the reasons why some people feel they need their phone constantly available?
15. How does the rapid growth of social media make phubbing more common?
B2 Level – Upper-Intermediate
1. What are the social pressures to appear constantly available by phone?
2. What are the moral problems when a person is phubbed by their own parent or child?
3. How does constant phone distraction affect a person’s ability to engage in deep conversation?
4. Should therapists be legally required to address technology addiction in relationships?
5. Analyze the psychological effect of feeling excluded when phubbed in a group setting.
6. Who is responsible for setting boundaries around phone use in a romantic relationship?
7. What is your view on the practice of deliberately leaving your phone at home when going out?
8. Evaluate the role of phone app designers in creating addictive user experiences.
9. How does the concept of “present bias” (focus on the immediate reward) contribute to phubbing?
10. Discuss the concept of “attention economy” and how phubbing plays into it.
11. What are the problems with having very different expectations for phone use in a friendship?
12. What are the legal differences between general rudeness and behavior that causes relationship harm?
13. Do you agree that the purpose of phubbing is mainly a coping mechanism for social anxiety?
14. What steps should be taken to ensure that children learn healthy phone habits early?
15. How does the constant threat of being interrupted by a notification affect focus?
C1 Level – Advanced
1. Is it fair that the profits of phone companies rely on people’s addiction to their devices?
2. What is the right way to think about a technology company’s moral duty to design non-addictive products?
3. How do the platform’s algorithms influence the type of notifications that encourage phubbing?
4. When should the government consider mandatory “digital health” features on all phones?
5. What are the moral questions when we talk about using a phone for emergencies while ignoring a personal conversation?
6. How does the focus on quick digital communication affect the long-term, necessary investment in face-to-face social skills?
7. Discuss the impact of mass phubbing on the quality of public communication and debate.
8. How should leaders use knowledge about digital addiction to promote stronger community bonds?
9. What is the idea of “social capital” and how does phubbing erode it?
10. What are the long-term effects on society when fewer people engage in deep, uninterrupted conversations?
11. What are the difficulties when courts try to decide if phubbing contributed to a relationship’s breakdown?
12. How does the search for total connectivity conflict with the need for focused personal presence?
13. Do you agree that the most important thing is the personal awareness of your own addictive habits?
14. What are the simple moral rules a person should follow when they are the victim of phubbing?
15. Should the government set a legal minimum for the amount of time people must spend in face-to-face interaction?
C2 Level – Proficiency
1. What is the real difference between a person’s desire for connection and their psychological dependence on the device?
2. Debate the idea: Should we completely eliminate the use of smartphones in all public and social settings?
3. How does the concept of “presence” change when a person is simultaneously in a physical and a virtual space?
4. What laws or rules are needed to control how technology platforms use personalized notifications to increase addiction?
5. How do historical views of social etiquette and manners affect modern debates over phone use?
6. How can communities maintain social cohesion when individual attention is constantly fragmented?
7. Argue the point that humans should stop all attempts to regulate phone use and let social norms evolve naturally.
8. What protection should laws give to people whose relationships are harmed by a partner’s phone addiction?
9. How can we stop the problem of using the argument of “necessity” (work, emergency) to excuse constant phone use?
10. What did old thinkers say about attention, focus, and the importance of being present that is still relevant today?
11. What will happen to the need for deep, interpersonal communication if AI companions become available?
12. How do people use the idea of “multitasking” to avoid discussing their inability to focus?
13. How does the experience of a technology detox improve a person’s appreciation for physical connection?
14. What is the power of a collective movement to demand that technology platforms prioritize well-being over engagement?
15. If scientists could create a perfect, non-addictive phone, how would that fundamentally change human social interaction?
