Blogpost 6: Phantom Vibration Syndrome

Do you feel sometimes that your phone is vibrating but there's no one calling? That is one of the symptoms of Phantom Vibration Syndrome. This is same thing as Hangover, when we drink alcohol too much. Just like in gadgets when we use our gadgets for a long period of time our body interacts with the feelings and others elements while we are using our gadgets.

I have read an article entitled "Rewired: The Psychology of Technology" written by Larry Rosen, Ph.D. found on Psychology Today.

In this article it was said that if you keep your phone in your pocket you sometimes feel a vibration in the skin adjacent to your pocket and pull out your mobile phone, assuming it is a text or some sort of notification, only to discover that it was a phantom vibration. Or, if you keep your phone in a purse or satchel you imagine that you heard it vibrating, or even ringing, only to discover that it was a false alarm.

According to Dr. Michelle Drouin, a professor at Indiana University-Purdue University in Fort Wayne, Indiana, 89% of the undergraduates in her study had experienced these phantom vibrations about every two weeks on the average although only one in 11 classified them as “bothersome.” Those who reacted more emotionally to text messages and were more dependent on text messaging were more bothered by them. 

The table below shows how often members of four generations of Americans check in with various technologies every 15 minutes or less. As you can see, the two out of three members of the two youngest generations are constantly checking in with their text messages and one in three are checking their cell phone calls and social media equally often. These estimates may even be a bit low according to a recent Nokia study that found that the average mobile phone user checks their phone every 6.5 minutes during the day or 150 times during their waking hours.

Larry Rosen quoted "Our body is always in waiting to anticipate any kind of technological interaction, which usually comes from a smartphone. With that anticipatory anxiety, if we get any neurological stimulation, our pants rubbing against our leg for example, you might interpret that through the veil of anxiety, as “Oh, my phone is vibrating.”

All we need to prevent this kind of illness is self discipline or just lessen and control the time of using our gadgets.



I have read an article entitled "Phantom Phone Vibrations: So Common They've Changed Our Brains?" written by Elise Hu found on NPR. 

In this article it was said that Phantom Vibration has been around only since the mobile age. And five years ago, when its wider existence became recognized, news organizations, including ours, covered the syndrome as a sign of the digital encroachment in our lives.

Other people may not confuse cows for their phones, but research shows phantom vibration syndrome, like hypovibochondria or ring-xiety are a near-universal experience for people with smartphones.


As we can see in this photo his knee is vibrating even though he doesn't have a cellphone in his pocket.

Nearly 90 percent of college undergrads in a 2012 study said they felt phantom vibrations. The number was just high for a survey of a hospital workers, who reported feeling the same illness on either a weekly or monthly basis.

We're seeing a lot of what looks like compulsive behavior, obsessive behavior. People who are constantly picking up their phone look like they have an obsession. They don't look much different from someone who's constantly washing their hands. It is not an obsession but it could turn into one.

Dr. Larry Rosen quoted "If you'd ask me 10 years ago, or maybe even five years ago if I felt an itch beneath where my pocket of my jeans were, and asked me what I would do, I'd reach down and scratch it because it was probably a little itch caused by the neurons firing"

For me I will do the same thing but now that I know that experiencing that feeling is one of the symptoms of Phantom Vibration Syndrome I will learn my limits and lessen the time that i am using my gadgets especially my cellphone.

We all know that these gadgets especially our mobile phones is already natural for us humans this days because it really helps us to make our tasks easier just like sending messages. But we also know that too much usage of this gadgets can be harmful and give us some illness just like Phantom Vibration Syndrome. The first thing that we can do to prevent or avoid this illness is self discipline by learning our limitations.