Have you ever been absorbed in a task or simply going about your day when suddenly, your phone vibrates? You take it out of your pocket to check it, except it actually hasn’t vibrated at all. The problem is you swore you felt it buzz. The other problem is that this happens constantly – maybe even on an everyday basis. If you said yes, you’re not alone. A recent study showed that 68% of the people surveyed had experienced “phantom ringing,” “phantom vibration syndrome” and “vibranxiety” – all terms for the sensation of a vibrating telephone when the telephone is not actually vibrating. Of the 68%, 87% reported that they felt phantom vibrations weekly. A whopping 13% admitted that these phantom buzzes were a daily occurrence.
While some chalk this up to electrical activity, Professor Larry Rosen attributes phantom vibration to anticipation. He believes that our tech-savvy generation is always anticipating some sort of technological interaction, leading us to believe that unrelated stimuli is a vibration from our phones.
For those who constantly suffer from phantom ringing, experts suggest switching from vibrations to audible ring tones, cutting down on the anticipation and hopefully, the ghosts!
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