Once in a while, the NY Times takes a break from increasingly self-parodying trend stories and fawning over the latest skin-crawling style icons to do some superlative reporting, incredible multimedia pieces, or make up surprisingly handy new words. The NY Times Magazine has been publishing Lizzie Skurnick's imaginative "That Should Be A Word" pieces for quite a while now, but today's word struck us as particular useful: Fidgital.

Fidgital (FIJ-IH-TULL), ADJ.
1. Excessively checking one’s devices. “Victoria grew tired of watching her fidgital fiancé glance at his iPhone every five seconds.” See also: Supdate (food-related status); keybard (a skilled texter).

Sure, we can't say we're fans of "keybard," but fidgital is an especially good term because it identifies a noxious trend that seems to have infiltrated every level of in-person social interactions. It's an epidemic we've encountered in person too many times, and fallen prey to ourselves—and it's led to many an awkward stand-off, especially when an argument starts with "I have work obligations" and ends up with "So maybe I am a little OCD, so what?"

And the fact that it sounds like it could be a cousin to that all-inclusive whimsical put-down "flibbertigibbet" only adds to the fun. Of course, we're a bit confused why it's spelled "Figital" in the accompanying graphic rather than the more intuitive (at least to us) fidgital. It seems like the word touched a nerve on Twitter:

Or, why I am still awake tweeting at 2:30am “@eugenekchung: new word via @nytimes. fidgital: excessively checking one's devices.”
— Mike Weisbart (@mikeweisbart) January 6, 2013

I thought it was called bad dinner table etiquette. RT @eugenekchung: new word via @nytimes. fidgital: excessively checking one's devices.
— Sunnie Huang (@smiliesunnie) January 6, 2013

Yep - this should be a thing. RT @eugenekchung: new word via @nytimes. fidgital: excessively checking one's devices.
— Dan Hocking (@danhocking) January 6, 2013

I know I suffer from this!RT @swenbooks New word from the @nytimes. Fidgital: excessively checking one's devices.
— Laura Nelkin (@LNelkin) January 6, 2013

Describes my life perfectly. RT @nytjim RT @eugenekchung: new word via @nytimes. fidgital: excessively checking one's devices.
— Ashley Lee (@ashleyllee) January 6, 2013

Guilty MT @hirokotabuchi: New word? fidgital: excessively checking one's devices nytimes.com/2013/01/06/mag… Also supdate: food-related status
— Gina (@LetterandLine) January 6, 2013

What an accurate new word, fidgital. RT @nytjim RT @eugenekchung: new word via @nytimes. fidgital: excessively checking one's devices.
— Elin Silveous (@ElinSilveous) January 6, 2013

I'm afflicted RT @nytjim: RT @eugenekchung: new word via @nytimes. fidgital: excessively checking one's devices.
— Kate Day (@kate_day) January 6, 2013

You can check out more of Skurnick's made-up words at The Old Hag. We wouldn't mind if this term catches on, though a certain Canadian indie dub step band may be less than pleased if it does.